Golden Boy
by Mana Midnight
Summary: Thanks to the advice of Severus Snape, Dumbledore decides to ReSort the Seventh Year students. This time the hat will not take 'No' for an answer.
1. The Night Before

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that right belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Note: Twenty Questions took place in the spring of Harry's sixth year, this is now the start of seventh year, right after the sorting. Each chapter will hold at least two perspectives, Draco's and Harry's, using DMHP as the marker for where they switch off. Any other POV will be marked with that person's initials.

Note2: This is the story that goes with the one-shot Twenty Questions. You do not need to read it for this to make sense. I designed both so that they can both stand alone.

**GOLDEN BOY**

**Chapter One**

**The Night Before**

Harry sighed for the thousandth time and kneaded his temples for the second thousandth time as the Great Hall continued to buzz around him. He had not gotten drunk in almost three weeks and was now suffering the effects of quitting a habit suddenly and none to gently. After waking up in Snape's rooms at the end of last year, he had gone without any alcohol for a week or two before starting back up once safely ensconced at the Dursley's. Well, as safe as he could be under that roof in any case. Other than losing his supply of anything alcoholic when he went to stay with the Weasley's after he turned seventeen, nothing of significance had happened. He had gained a new pet in the form of an alley cat who never left his side and even now sat in his lap and cleaned his silvery grey paws. After feeding Sayre another bit off of his tray, Harry turned his attention to what his friend, and current reason for a dreadful headache, Hermione was saying about something that had been in the rumor mill for quite a while.

"They supposedly have it built in the Forbidden Forest." She clicked her tongue and scowled at something that seemed so ridiculous. It didn't sound that way to Harry, but he didn't know what they were talking about.

"Built what in the Forbidden Forest?" He asked as he took a small bite of his food in an attempt to curb his nausea and hide the increasing tremor in his hands.

"Honestly, Harry. You need to learn to pay more attention!" Hermione admonished, but opened her mouth to answer his question anyway.

"Quiet, quiet. Now is the time for announcements," Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled as he stood and remained silent until all of the student body and faculty looked at him, "As so many of you seem to be talking about a building in the Forbidden Forest, I think that now would be a good time to tell you of an amazing idea that our wonderful Potion's Master had," At this everyone turned shocked eyes on a scowling Snape. Harry's own narrowed as vague memories of a game of twenty questions came to mind. There wasn't anything substantial that he could remember, so he pushed it into the back of his conscious thought, "He came to me at the end of the last school year with a theory. A theory that as children grow older their personalities change. That means that the House they were originally Sorted into could possibly change.

"Due to those insightful words, this year will see the beginning of a new Hogwarts tradition. The Seventh year _Re_Sorting. Tomorrow morning, right after breakfast, all Seventh Years will put on the Sorting Hat again and figure out which House they belong in now," Dumbledore started to gesticulate wildly, obviously enamoured with the idea, "All summer we have spent preparing separate dorms in the Forbidden Forest. Four in total. They will be housing the newly sorted Seventh years and their year-mates. They can be reached safely from the school through a tunnel that is now located under the castle. Four additions will be made to the staff here to supplement the loss of the four teachers who will be moving to oversee the students. Those two teachers will be Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, and Severus Snape. Further information regarding this will be given after the ReSorting. Now, goodnight!" With that everyone was dismissed and Harry stood up slowly, making sure to balance himself as Sayre jumped to the floor.

He really needed to stop drinking for good.

Harry followed behind Ron and Hermione, noticing the several feet of awkward distance between them. They had tried a relationship last year, unfortunately it hadn't worked and ever since then they had been like this. Distant. Awkward. Cold. Harry hated it and the way that they had started to use him as a buffer. He knew the reason that they had broken up. Both Ron and Hermione had fallen in love with other people. People that, like Draco, was out of their reach. None of the three wanted to admit to each other who it was, but Harry would bet his life that they were all Slytherins.

And speaking of Slytherins...

Draco Malfoy was several feet in front of them, laughing with his friends and his arm slung around Pansy Parkinson's shoulders. Harry felt his heart twist, but he ignored it. He knew that Draco Malfoy would never be his. Nonetheless, it still hurt to see him with someone else. Shaking his head, Harry reminded himself that after this year he would never see the blond again, so it was a mote point to even look at him.

As he turned to head up the stairs to get to Gryffindor tower, passing by the Slytherins who had stopped to let the first year snakes pass with their prefects, Ron stopped dead in his tracks, causing Harry to run into his taller frame and fall backward. Luckily he was able to grab the banister and hold on, but with the trembling he couldn't hold on for long and his hand slipped. Harry tumbled down the few steps to the bottom and landed on his back, looking up into the smirking face of the one person Harry truly did not need to see in his current frame of mind. Draco Malfoy removed his arm from around Pansy's shoulders and extended his hand.

"Geez, Potter. I know you liked me, but I didn't know you had fallen so hard." Harry didn't have the energy to glare. He grasped the hand and allowed himself to be pulled up.

"Thanks, Malfoy. I guess." He sounded tired, and he knew it, but he couldn't bring himself to care. All he wanted to do was get to the Room of Requirement and ask it for a year supply of Firewhiskey, but he couldn't do that either. Instead, he turned and walked upstairs, listening to his two friends' footsteps as they followed him, petting Sayre when he jumped up onto Harry's shoulder and nuzzled his neck.

DMHP

Draco frowned as he watched Potter climb the stairs. He had sounded exhausted, as if nothing in the world mattered to him anymore. Somehow, that didn't seem right for the Gryffindor to feel like that. Potter had everyone and everything he could ever want. Shrugging, Draco shook himself out of his reverie and walked with his two best friends into the Slytherin dormitories, this time with Pansy firmly snuggled up to Blaise's side. This was one habit that the Seventh year Slytherin's, himself in particular, allowed to be seen outside of the common rooms, for more than one reason.

The first was because it cultivated a certain image about the trio that instantly set off any would-be suitors. Draco enjoyed this bit immensely, for he preffered to find his partners on his own and not have them come to him. This was because of the little fact that he could be just a little bit possessive of whoever he shared his bed with, more so than he was with his friends. They had to be able to tolerate that, if not enjoy it, which so far no one had. The few people who he had deemed worthy had proven to have a distaste for his possessive nature. So, he used Pansy's inherent clinginess to keep away idle fans and admirers.

The second reason that they allowed this display of emotion was because of her father and mother. The Parkinson's were one of the oldest bloodlines in pureblood history and her parents had high expectations of their only child. They were even stricter than Draco's parents had been. Several times he had had to go get her and bring her to stay with him, when her punishment for low grades or something petty and meaningless that his parents or Blaise's mom would have just let slide with a lecture. She needed the physical contact, so they gave it to her without qualms.

Once they were deeper into Slytherin territory Pansy turned to Draco and Blaise, a small smirk fixed onto her face, "The ReSorting sounds like an interesting idea," They nodded and she continued, "Maybe that Weasley boy in our year will be Sorted into Slytherin."

"Pansy, just because you like Gryffindors doesn't mean the rest of us do." Blaise stated airily, sticking his nose into the air.

"Zabini, we all know that you fancy Granger, so kindly shut up." Draco sneered at them as he crossed his arms.

"You just don't know them like we do, Draco darling." Pany patted his arm comfortingly and Draco just raised an eyebrow at them.

"Weasel is definitely not Slytherin material, Pansy." She just giggled at his scathing tone.

"Do you think we'll stay in Slytherin?" Was her next question, and despite the breezy tone overlaying her voice, Draco could hear the underlaying worry.

"Pansy, you had to convince the hat to put you into Slytherin over Gryffindor. If given the choice again, where would you go?" Blaise asked bluntly, instead of the subtle questions and hints employed by most Slytherins to confuse the members of the other Houses. Draco rolled his eyes as he imagined what was going through Pansy's mind.

One thing that Draco understood without a doubt was that all Slytherin's have a weakness. Blaise had one, Pansy had one, and even Draco had one. To him it was a flaw in their pureblood makeup, that somehow made them weaker. One thing that Draco despised was weakness. He was a pureblooded Malfoy, following in the long standing tradition of ruling over Slytherin House, but never demeaning themselves to the level of professor. Malfoy's did not do that. Malfoy's also never abandoned their friends or family. Pansy fell under both without a lick of doubt.

"Please, Zabini, even if she did, we could never get rid of her. She's like a disease." Draco scoffed and paused only long enough to speak the password for the Slytherin dormitories. They walked inside and sat comfortably in their usual spots near the fire. This time with Pansy curled up in an armchair now that no prying eyes could see her and tell the rest of the school.

Even Slytherin's had honor, after all.

"Draco's right, Pansy. Even if you were ReSorted into Gryffindor, you would still be a Slytherin." Blaise crossed his legs and leaned into the back of the seat while tucking wavy black hair behind one ear.

Draco sneered as he lounged on a divan, one arm thrown over the back and one knee bent upwards. He looked over at them, loosening his tie with the other hand.

"I draw the line at Hufflepuff."

END CHAPTER 1

End of first chap. Whatcha think?


	2. ReSorting

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Unfortunately, I don't own Tom Felton or Draco Malfoy either...darn...kicks wall and walks off limping

Note: I forgot to add this at the end of last chapter, I was stressing over what you guys would think of the chapter, but the cat's name, Sayre, is Welsh for skilled. I love the baby naming book that I have for naming my characters. :)

If I remember, I'll have a challenge at the end of the chapter concerning names of characters and my actual name too. (Key word, remember)

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Two**

**ReSorting**

Harry woke up to Sayre licking the side of his neck. Shivering lightly, he pushed the silvery cat away and stretched awake slowly, languishing in the feel of the soft cotton sheets that to him had become a luxury. Oh, his relatives rarely ever laid a hand on him, they were still wary about what he could possibly do to them, now that he was of age. Although they gladly deprived him of other things, like food, clothes, and adequate sheets for his bed. It had never bothered him that much, until he realized how long he would stay in bed suffering from hangovers without the aid of any potions. This was the first morning in almost a month that he had woken up feeling refreshed and not sick to his stomach or hungover.

He celebrated by petting Sayre for a few minutes before going to take a lazy morning shower, with a silver tabby-cat trying to fight the jets of water. Last night had involved a lengthy debate between the seventh years in an attempt to figure out where everyone would go. It was decided that only Hermione would switch Houses and that would be to Ravenclaw. Everyone else would remain in the same House, sharing everything with the same people that they had for years. They had all laughed loudly when she had looked at all of them before shaking her head and stalking off, muttering something about underestimating time. Not even Harry had paid her any heed.

Now though, standing in the shower cubicle with the warm water running down his back, something felt wrong. It started deep in his gut and traveled up his spine to niggle at the back of his mind. He raked his brain, but he couldn't figure it out. Sayre nipping lightly at his ankle drew him out of the daze and he chuckled at the cat before stepping out of the cubicle. He grinned at the other guys, who were still stretching, and threw on some clothes before heading downstairs to meet Hermione.

She was sitting in her favorite seat, more like curled up with a book tucked against her knees. The light bathed her face gently and a smile made her face glow as she turned to look at him. Harry returned her smile and moved to sit across from her in another armchair, tucking his knees up under him easily.

"I like today's outfit, Harry." Hermione's smile grew as he blushed and pulled his robes closed over the slimming silver-gray shirt and low slung, faded, blue jeans. It was one of the few nice outfits he had and something similar to the gut instinct in the shower, had told him to wear this outfit and not a more comfortable one.

"Thanks." He said sheepishly and hoped that she didn't push further about it. Luckily, for him anyway, she didn't and instead started to chatter about her book. It was the newest edition Hogwarts: A History, which he tuned out accordingly.

"The thing is, Harry, I don't even know his name!" The last bit was whined out a bit petulantly and Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" He stated as calmly as possible.

"Well...he never told me...not in a single one of his letters. Or his presents-" At this point she sighed, "-it gets frustrating!"

Harry grinned unabashedly and chuckled quietly, "You have a secret admirer?"

Hermione blushed brilliantly and coughed delicately into her hand before moving to rest on the arm of Harry's chair, "I think he's a Slytherin, what am I going to do, Harry?" She started to chew on her fingernails. Harry reached up and gently pulled her fingers out of her mouth.

"I don't care." He said in complete honesty and sincerity.

"Yes, but Ron will-"

"Who cares what Ron thinks?" Harry stated harshly, still a tad bit annoyed about the whole "My friends can't be gay" fiasco that had started at beginning of the school year last year. It had smoothed out for the most part, but there were still some bumps in the road. Otherwise Harry would have given up drinking, which Hermione had found out about at the Weasley's and gave him something as temporary relief, although she disapproved strongly. He knew that the moment he decided to quit, if he ever decided to quit, she would be there for him, first and foremost.

Even if he would rather have Draco there supporting him, but that was the whole reason he was drinking, wasn't it?

Hermione smiled at him and climbed off of the arm of the chair and settled back into her spot. They talked about the coming year, about her secret admirer, and about Ron's secret crush. After the third guess, which happened to be Millicent Bulstrode, Ron stumbled down the stairs and they headed to breakfast, where after every bite Harry's gaze wondered to where Draco sat and ate his breakfast without looking around.

DMHP

Miraculously, Draco's eyebrow had only twitched twice by the end of breakfast. Pansy's incessant sighing and Blaise's constant chattering was beginning to get on his nerves. Did his friends ever shut up? He guessed not as rounded a glare off at them. Still, they sighed and talked without pause. They were saved from his wrath by the timely coughing of their Headmaster, Dumbledorkwad.

"The time has come for all good things, or in this case where they begin," He gazed contently at the students as Professor McGonogall and Professor Snape brought out the Sorting hat, set it on it's stool and then stood to either side of it, "This may be the time for speeches, but I, unfortunately, do not have one. In a sense I wanted to stall, or in another sense forestall, the growing up of my lambs by inaction and avoidance of the subject. I will leave you to your ReSorting, and enjoy myself in the watching." With that said and, in Draco's eyes and anyone with an ounce of Slytherin in them, Dumbledore had said a lot.

The three friends sent a glance in each other's direction before following the directions that McGonogall called out and lining up in front of the Sorting Hat's stool, in the back where all Slytherin's belonged, able to watch everyone in the room without an eye on them in return.

The Hufflepuffs stood in front of the snakes, fidgeting and glancing around nervously. As all badger's should. After all, they were the rejects and cast-offs, only loyal because it was the one redeeming quality that they all shared.

The Ravenclaws were in front of them. Their thirst for knowledge driving them as close to the front of the line as they were able to get. These were the people who would become the leaders of knowledge and intellect in and of their generation.

In front of them and in the very front of the line stood the Gryffindors, the noble martyrs of their kind. They would sacrifice themselves for any cause, which to the Slytherin's seemed like a major waste. Especially when their blood and bodies could be used for much grander and nobler schemes.

Slowly the line moved forward. Amazingly only three remained in their original house; Weasel, Finnigan, and Brown. Granger was moved to Ravenclaw, big surprise there. Patil and Thomas were moved to Hufflepuff, who welcomed another number to their ranks with open arms. Once the clamor had died down a bit, Potter walked slowly up to the stool, as if about to do battle with a dragon. Draco snorted, as if Perfect-Potter had anything to worry about from the Sorting Hat, it would probably just yell out Gryffindor, or maybe even Hufflepuff, before it even touched his head. He rolled his eyes imperceptively as Potter sat down, why were was that one mudbl-sorry-_muggleborn_ looking a tad worried? The occupants of the room sat silent as the Hat's mouth formed into a semblance of a grin, obviously arguing with Potter. Finally the slit in it's brim opened up and everyone leaned forward...

"SLYTHERIN!"

The hush in the Great Hall became shocked and outraged as Potter stood up, handed the hat to a silently-smug Snape, and stepped down off the small step-up platform. His face was impassive and his stride was strong, firm, confident, but Draco thought that his left arm shook slightly as he walked slowly to where Dumbledork had set up a Slytherin flag, sending a slight glance to a slowly blinking Granger.

Not once did he look at Weasel, who looked like he had just lost his favorite puppy.

After that singular display from their one and only Savior, the Resorting was anticlimactic and dull. Crabbe and Goyle were moved to Hufflepuff, Blaise was moved to Ravenclaw, as was Millicent, and Pansy was placed in Gryffindor. Draco stayed in Slytherin, as was his natural place in life.

He leaned against the wall next to the Slytherin flag, a quarter of him hoping that Pansy had success with the Weasel(although he still had trouble seeing why she liked him), a quarter of him pondering Blaise's apparent happiness in his change to Slytherin, and half of him pondering Potter's loosely tensed shoulders and strong stance(although to Draco it looked like a good stiff breeze could knock him down). Not a bit of him heard nor listened to Dumbledore's fake on the spot speech-was that a curled lip that he saw on Potter's face!- as he watched the throng as any good Slytherin would, and it seemed as it Potter already had the inconspicious watching down. Than again, it must be fairly easy behind those ugly glasses.

Draco sighed as Severus stepped forward to lead them down into the dungeons and into the buildings that would become their dorms for the last semester at Hogwarts.

Looked like small miracles really did exist.

End Chapter 2

Notes/Challenge

Alright, below is one name and one meaning, courtesy of my baby name book. There will be a second name-meaning, that will be my name.

Pansy (Greek)

(Greek) sensual

(Latin, English, Irish) beloved or worthy of love

If anyone either wants to know what their name means(I'll send you the meaning via PM or email), or already knows and wants me to post it(I can leave your penname anonymous, if you want me to) or just knows a name with a funny/interesting/amusing/weird meaning, send it!

If anyone wants me to, I can post a list of the ReSorted Houses next chapter and/or put it up in my profile.

Kudos to heartproof and blueray for noticing my typo with the two to four last chapter. When I go back to edit all of the chapters soon, I will do my best to remember to fix that.

Midnight Out


	3. Speaking With Snape

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter, and this will most likely be the last time that I say this.

Notes: Alrighty, I will respond to the whole name challenge thing at the bottom. Since I wanted to split my ANs in half, so I wouldn't keep you from your chapter, I will post the newly ReSorted Houses here. Those of you who notice this, I did remove some characters from the list. Let's say that they either died or their parents made them switch schools.

_Gryffindor(original House)_

Lavender Brown

Seamus Finnigan

Ronald Weasley

Mandy Brocklehurst(Ravenclaw)

Pansy Parkinson(Slytherin)

_Ravenclaw(original House)_

Lisa Turpin

Padma Patil

Hermione Granger(Gryffindor)

Megan Jones(Hufflepuff)

Millicent Bulstrode(Slytherin)

Blaise Zabini(Slytherin)

_Hufflepuff(original House)_

Justin Finch-Fletchley

Ernie Macmillan

Parvati Patil(Gryffindor)

Dean Thomas(Gryffindor)

Michael Corner(Ravenclaw)

Vincent Crabbe(Slytherin)

Gregory Goyle(Slytherin)

_Slytherin(original House)_

Draco Malfoy

Theodore Nott

Harry Potter(Gryffindor)

Terry Boot(Ravenclaw)

Note2: I want to thank blueray for noticing my mistake last chapter. I will go back and change it, most likely after I finish writing this AN, so don't worry about that. I will also change my mistake in chapter one with the counting of the teachers. Hopefully I won't get rushed and forget to fix any mistakes in this chapter...hoping that I make none though, also, for a small change of pace, I'm going to start off in Draco's POV.

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Three**

**Speaking with Snape**

Draco sighed almost silently as he followed the Heads of Houses down the dungeon corridor and into the buildings that they would be housed in for their last year at Hogwarts. The student body was bunched into groups around him and not for the first time did he miss the comforting presence of his friends. Ahead of him walked Potter and Granger. Their heads were bent together and they talked in hushed tones, fingers flying in what appeared to be an established form of communication. Finding that he didn't really care how the Golden Trio communicated, he turned his attention to the two people that he deemed worthy of calling 'friends.'

Pansy was following just a few short steps behind the Weasel, a calculating look in her eye even as Lavender Brown drew her into conversation slowly. Despite the chatter coming in one ear, she handled herself well enough to talk civilly with Brown yet still keep Weasley in her range of sight. He had taught her that skill himself, when it became obvious that her father would demand her attention yet still be able to pay attention to what was going on around her. It was an ability worthy of a Parkinson, and Master Parkinson had to have an heir who had that in them.

Pansy had come to him for help on that front and before long, by the end of their second year in fact, she was worthy in her father's eyes. That had stopped any severe punishment in its tracks but now he employed other techniques to keep his daughter in line. They were humane in pureblood's eyes, but also strict beyond moral standards.

She was fine now, her Slytherin mask firmly in place as she stalked her chosen prey. Never mind that her prey was a redheaded moron, or even a Gryffindor placed firmly within his House and beliefs. Merlin's pants, it was apparent that the Weasley had abandoned his best mate over something as ridiculous as which House he was in! Even Draco knew that not every House was good or bad. It was the inhabitants that built the reputation. The Houses that they slept in did not change a person's innate character, instead it magnified the traits that were the strongest through internal growth within that environment. Draco doubted that a Weasley would understand that though, especially this one.

This time he turned his attention to Blaise, who like Pansy was stalking his prey in the form of the bushy haired companion of the Boy-Who-Lived. Blaise's stride was strong and Draco noticed that his gaze did not once leave her face regardless of the number of times that her eyes darted back to his tanned face, brow creased in suspicion. It was no wonder why Blaise liked her. She was strong enough magically to be a pureblood and intelligent enough to make up for the lack of blood.

Draco just wished that it hadn't been a Gryffindor turned Ravenclaw, especially one of Potter's friends. They could not possibly meet the standards of one Draco Malfoy, and he had high standards. Pushing that to the back of his mind he glanced around at the assembled students as they all stopped in what looked like a larger version of all the common rooms combined.

It reminded Draco of his godfather's personal chambers.

Dark red bookshelves with yellow, purple, and emerald green markers were filled to the brim with books. The rugs were a deep forest green with alternating lilac, gold, and black tassels and designs. Several fireplaces lined three walls, all with amethyst mantles and small knick-knacks on top with colorful patterns that had the symbols of the four houses engraved on them. Along the back wall stood four sets of double doors, all aged yellow in color, but with a flag from one House on each door.

"This is the main building," McGonogall's voice drew his attention to the front, so Draco turned his liquid silver eyes onto her, "This is where you can gather each day to converse with the members of the other Houses. This is where all the necessary books are to complete the assignments given to you each week. Now please follow your current Head Of House to the door in which hangs your House flag." With that the old cat turned to the door with the red flag on it and disappeared through it. Pansy sent a smirk to Draco and Blaise as she went.

Weasley didn't even turn around to wave to Potter or Granger. Draco snorted at that as he followed Snape through the doorway and into the new Slytherin territory, Nott, Boot, and Potter-with that small silvery cat of his on his shoulder-following him like the lambs that they were.

Draco knew exactly why Terry Boot had been ReSorted into Slytherin; his betrayal of his Housemates. Last year, after a month long absence due to an ill and dieing family member, he had come back and immediately started to catch up on his courses.

Alas, the death of his older brother had caused him to snap in some corner of his previously ethical and moral mind. Within a week he was bullying the other students in his House and stealing their work. Now, this was an action that even Draco could not lower himself to; he did have some standards and moral thoughts, even though he didn't broadcast it like other people did. He preferred to get his good marks on his own, it was the Malfoy way, after all.

HPDM

Harry walked on near silent feet at the back of the line, directly behind Boot who was following Nott who was being led by Draco. A precession of four that Harry wished that he was not a part of. He had long come to terms with the fact that Fate did not favor him one bit at all, though, so it was kind of expected. Hermione had already questioned him about why he was in Slytherin instead of in Gryffindor, or even Hufflepuff. He hadn't been able to bring himself to say that the reason was his innate personality and not some fluke of nature.

He had seen Parkinson watching Ron like a hawk, and Harry wished them the best of luck, even if Ron was upset that he wouldn't be sharing a dorm with his best mate. He had also seen Zabini keeping a close eye on Hermione and knew that he had spotted her secret admirer.

But Harry wasn't going to tell his friends who had chosen them. He wanted to see how it would play out before he dealt his hand. If it turned out that Ron and Hermione liked them too, than he could play matchmaker.

His face froze and fell for a split second before he caught it and stuffed the momentary insecurity into a closet in the corner of his mind and restored his icy mask. It was almost flawless, he couldn't stop the trembling in one arm from halfway to his elbow from his shoulder. That was hidden in the sleeve of his large robe, one reason he hadn't gotten them resized when he visited Madam Malkin's to get some new ones.

He knew that Draco could never see him for who he was. Harry had known that the moment that he realized how he felt about the blond. That didn't stop him from trying to keep the Slytherin safe, though. Harry had already stopped one attempt by Terry Boot to poison Draco; Boot didn't know that it was Harry who stopped him from getting back at Draco for a nasty break-up.

Mentally shaking his head from his thoughts, getting a light swat from Sayre when he disturbed his morning paw cleaning when he had shrugged his shoulders in the process, he stopped and looked at Snape, who had stopped in what was a small common room for their use. In one corner was a spiral staircase that led upwards. In one corner was a door, labeled with Snape's name. Harry didn't really care though. All he noticed for the moment was the elegant styles that graced the furniture and the decor, all of it in silver and green.

"This is where you will be staying for this year. The rules are as follows; all work will be turned in to me by the designated time or points will be removed, this goes for all of your classes, as I will have to grade them myself. Your owls will stay in your room, except for when you are sending or receiving mail. Any other animal, like Potter's-" Here a sneer formed across Snape's face as the feline delicately yawned, "-cat can roam free, as long as they do not cause problems. You will be assigned a partner and any fighting between you two will be taken care of appropriately. Your dorm room, which you will share with said partner, is equipped with kitchen and bathroom facilities. You are to take care of your own meals, regardless of cooking ability. Members of the other Houses are not allowed in this building unless permission is given by both their Head of House and myself, and never overnight. You are not allowed back into Hogwarts itself unless summoned or sent. Violation of any of the rules that I have stated will be cause for your failing grade or expulsion. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone nodded and he smirked a Snape-ish smirk.

"Good. Now, I want each of you to come into my private rooms as I call you. Your partner will be decided on after that. Theodore, follow me." With that he walked into his office, black cape billowing out behind him as he went. Nott followed him and the door slammed shut with a bang behind them.

Boot and Draco made themselves comfortable on the sofa near a fireplace with a snake-shaped grate. Within seconds they were talking in hushed tones, Draco looking a bit irritated as Boot leaned closer to him. Harry sat in an armchair in the corner, curling up with his feet under him and Sayre jumping down to clean himself in his lap. Harry closed his eyes and leaned back. Despite waking up in a good mood, his headache had returned with a vengeance and even now the queasiness was building up in his stomach. Petting Sayre helped him to relax and get his mind off of what was happening, but it didn't help with the physical symptoms of his withdrawal. He really needed that temporary relief.

Harry didn't even blink as he heard the door open and Nott tell Boot that is was his turn before sitting down with Draco. He continued to pet Sayre and form the letter in his head that would ask Hermione for that potion she made him when Boot told Draco that it was his turn. He didn't move until he heard Draco leave Snape's rooms and then he only stood, Sayre remaining in his arms as he passed the taller teen, ignoring the heady feeling that he got when their arms brushed.

Harry sat down in the only chair in front of Snape's desk, the cat jumping out of his arms as to explore the room. He looked up and into the Potions Master's pitch black eyes, relaxing his muscles until he sat comfortably with his feet pulled up against his chest.

"I trust that you remember our little game at the end of last year?" Harry nodded to the question, responding with a smirk of his own as well.

"Yes, you have five questions left still," Snape nodded, "So this is ultimately your doing, Professor Snape?"

"Yes, it is. I see that I did not judge you wrong. Did you know that you would be ReSorted into Slytherin?"

"At first, no," Harry let out a slight laugh, "I didn't even remember our meeting last year until breakfast was over and you were bringing out the Hat." Sighing, Harry kneaded the bridge of his nose in an attempt to still the headache. Snape held out a goblet.

"Headache reliever. I will brew a potion that will help with the effects of the withdrawal." Harry looked at him in shock as he took it and sipped it.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" At this Snape just smirked.

"I can read people better than you think, Harry. Even if my godson does not realize it, you are perfect for him. Despite being a Potter." Harry stuck out his tongue.

"I'm also an Evans."

"That you are. Do you still want to be with my godson?"

"Yes, but I don't know how I'll be able to get him." Harry sighed dejectedly and almost jumped out of his seat when Snape reached across the desk and smacked the back of his head.

"You are in Slytherin, now, Harry. Think like one."

"Alright!" Rubbing the sore spot on his skull, Harry stood up and retrieved Sayre from across the room before going to open the door and return to the common room, but stopped when he felt Snape's hand land on his shoulder.

"Harry, just remember that I will be here if you need me. I don't want my godson's future wife to succumb to depression."

End Chapter Three

Alright, name challenge. Answers are-

Pansy(Greek) fragrant (Alternate spellings include Panze, Pansie, and Panzie)

Sensual(Greek) Hermione (Alternate spellings include Hermina and Hermine)

Beloved or worthy of love(Latin, English, Irish) Amanda (Alternate spellings include Amand, Manda, Amandah, and my nickname Mandi)

The following names were sent in by reviewers:

Sent in by drarythoughts- Ashley, which means woodland sprite or meadow of ash trees.

Sent in by Sakurabound- Abigail, which means joyful.

Sent in by Kira(Anon)- Desdemona, which means ill-fated, or by my book tragic figure. Thanks for the name!

Sent in by heartproof- Jasmine, which means fragrant or sweet.

Sent in by Mr. Rainbows- Lara, which means lovely.

Sent in by DerangedxandxSarcastic- Haley, which means natural or hay meadow.

Sent in by Mizu1411- Michelle, which means God loving.

Thank you for your reviews and keep sending me names! If I missed your name, I apologize, just resent it and I'll try to get to it this time.


	4. Planning: Stage One

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own Sayre.

Harry's language is gonna be a bit foul... it seems like Severus' comment really made him mad... oops... and sorry this chapter took a while to get out, but a kitten and a piece of red ribbon distracted me multiple times, I'm sorry, but I am also easily distracted.

One more thing, I will switch POV between Harry and Draco several times this chapter, roughly a page to a page and a half each POV. Also, this chapter is going to be very long, as I have a goal of 4,500 or more words. Thank you and enjoy chapter four.

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Four**

**Planning: Stage One**

Harry expertly hid his cringe of disgust and disappointment at Snape's choice of words. He was not going to be Draco's wife. Yes, he loved the idea of marrying Draco Malfoy, but the chances of that happening were pretty damn slim. The arrogantly handsome prick hated his guts, no matter which House he was Sorted into. Snape didn't see that though, or did he think that Harry would somehow be able to overcome that disability? Harry just snorted as he resumed his seat, this time sitting with his legs crossed at the knee and his hands folded easily at his stomach. Sayre went to explore his new surroundings.

"Potter, your cat better not shit on my stuff." Boot called out, Nott chuckling along with him. Draco just sat there and looked unamused, as usual.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Boot. My cat, as you elegantly called him, only does that when provoked. He's also been known to bite off the toes of the people or kick him." The last made Nott pause in mid-kick and put his foot down.

"All the same, Potter, keep your beast under control or it will have to stay in your room all the time." This time it was Snape sneering at him as he stood near the staircase, arms crossed.

"Of course, Professor." Harry's grin turned somber as their eyes met. His headache had faded so he shot the older man a mildly grateful look before his face turned neutral again. The greasy git only nodded once, imperceptibly, before turning to face the others as well.

"You are now to be partnered up with someone else. From our interviews I decided on the possible _chemistry_-" He said the word with obvious contempt, "-among you. These stairs lead to two separate suite like dorms, one on each floor, for both you and your partner."

"I think you should explain to the Gryffindor, Professor, he's looking rather confused." Boot interrupted Snape's monologue. Harry may not like the fucking man, but even he knew better than to do that, so Harry turned his gaze to the Ravenclaw and raised an eyebrow.

"I understood him completely, Boot, are you sure you did though?" He smirked and looked at Draco's assessing mercurial eyes, winking once before turning his eyes onto Snape's craggy visage, who was looking rather triumphant. To be honest, Harry didn't really care if the other man decided to bloody fucking marry a damn bloody goblin, not after that wife comment.

"Since Boot has decided to make it unsafe for both Potter and himself to reside in the same room without the threat of violence, the partners will be switched up. Nott, you must deal with Boot. Malfoy, you must restrain Potter. Your names will be on the door to your rooms." With that he turned and glided into his chambers, cape billowing out behind him with a carefully timed flick of his wrist.

Harry should know, he practiced the same move for hours.

Without a glance in Draco's direction, none the blond could see anyway, Harry stood up and climbed the stairs up to the landing that had both of their names on the hardwood door, Sayre twining about his feet in a practiced move.

Snape had almost blown it, being too obvious in Harry's mind with the whole partners deal. Never mind the fact that he had said that he would help Harry, he wasn't helping Harry if he was giving away the whole thing away. He pushed that to a corner of his mind when Draco's soft footsteps climbed the stairs slowly behind him, stopping when they reached the second floor and their door. Harry pushed the thought out of his mind as he gently turned the knob and opened the heavy door, a soft gasp emitting from between his lips as he took in the sight around him.

HPDM

Draco followed Potter and his cat up the stairs and to the door, The Gryffindor was turning out to be more than he had originally thought he was, if he could stand up to Terry Boot as he had. Maybe he wasn't a lamb after all, but that would come with time.

Potter's cat stood in front of the door and looked up at his person, question shining in the cat's intelligent eyes. Potter seemed to sense the curiosity in some corner of his mind for he opened the door, emitting a slight gasp as he entered the room. Draco followed him, trying to ignore what the soft sound had done to his body. This was the Gryffindor Golden Boy! He shouldn't be feeling anything for him physically!

_But he's a Slytherin now_, whispered a corner of his thoughts. Draco promptly ignored it, instead nodding in approval at their plush room. Against the back wall, on opposing sides, sat two four poster beds with their trunks already settled at the foot of them, soft sheets switched between dark red, emerald green, and silver. Between them stood a small, round, table with two chairs pulled up between them. Next to the bed on the far left wall was a small bed, presumably for the cat. Their owls, Potter's white one and Draco's eagle owl Lazarus, sat on their perches near the windows.

Closer to the door rested a loveseat and an armchair arranged in front of a fireplace and a coffee table. Stepping further into the room Draco could see a small kitchenette behind a bar area. Near the fireplace was another door, where Draco could see the bathroom facilities.

"These beds are softer than the ones in the tower!" Draco turned his attention to Potter, who was on his hands and knees on the one with the cat bed next to it.

"Of course, Potter, they're Slytherin beds." Draco turned up his nose and went to investigate the bookshelves.

He could see Harry shrug to himself before picking up his cat and placing him on the bed, talking the whole time.

"Look at that, now you won't have to take my other pillow." Draco just snorted when the cat seemed to raise an eyebrow and jump onto the bed and curl up on one of the pillows.

"That cat won't listen to you, Potter. You're probably too soft on him." Draco turned to face Potter completely, eyes shining with suspicion when he saw the raven haired teen sitting on a comforter that resembled both of his Houses.

Everything was designed immaculately, as if this had been planned in advance. Everywhere he looked he saw something that resembled both Gryffindor and Slytherin. Of course, House Elves were amazing creatures, they could have had everything ready weeks ago but had stalled before putting it together so that they could be told where everything went. That was most likely it, Severus hated Potter, he would not help him.

Although he had not spoken a bad thing about him all summer... that was a bit odd...

"We'll have to divide the chores, Malfoy. House Elves aren't allowed into the student's rooms in this building." Potter's soft voice broke into his thoughts and he raised an eyebrow at him. Dumbledorks speech, that he hadn't listened to of course.

HPDM

Harry stalled the tingle that wanted to head down his spine at Draco's slow grin as he tried to recall what he had said or done that could possibly bring about that reaction. Nothing sprang to mind so he tilted his head in confusion.

"We'll discuss the chore situation later, right now I want to know what you think of Dumbledore's speech, from a Slytherin's point of view." Harry relaxed, it was only a test. He stood up and went to dig through his trunk for Sayre's bowls while he responded.

"There wasn't much there to really form an opinion on, although his comment on us being lambs and not wanting us to go didn't go over well with me. He did that multiple times, each time in a different context. Also, he was vague on several subjects and seemed to want to get it over with So, Malfoy, I think it was a bad speech." By the time Harry was done talking, there was a bowl in the kitchenette with water in it and he was searching the cabinets for cat food. Draco sat on a barstool and watched him.

"Is that all?"

"No." Ah, there it was. A can of cat food and there was a can opener in a drawer next to the fridge. Everything was of muggle design, down to the stove... maybe he should deal with the cooking, although that was one thing in life that he did not want to do ever again. He doubted Draco could cook, being a pureblood with House Elves to cater to his every need. If need be, they could live on cold cut sandwiches for all he cared.

"Well, Potter, don't make me wait." Damnit, Draco needed to stop talking before Harry actually started having delusions of grandeur.

"Malfoy, we don't like each other, so why are you talking to me?" Harry turned around and met his eyes. The mercury liquid burned his retinas and he barely stopped the shiver going down his spine at the other's full out smile.

"You're in Slytherin now, Potter, so we might as well pretend to like each other. Despite popular belief, I do want to graduate."

Harry just watched him, weighing his choices. Was this what Snape was hoping for, that Draco would decide that maybe since they were roommates they would have to get over their little feud and get along?

Damnit, Harry bloody hoped that was the case. If Draco was playing him about this he might never get over it.

He just stared into the taller boy's eyes, brow creased with distrust and suspicion externally while he went over the possible strategies internally. Maybe he could get Draco to fall for him, but anything obvious would just make the blond boy hate him even more. If he wanted this to succeed, he would have to make Draco chase him as well. Dangle the bait in front of his eyes, in a manner of speaking. That could work... but not completely. He would have to work on several different fronts. Draw Draco into more than just this sort of conversation. He would have to have intellectual conversations with him, show him that there was more to Harry Potter than the Gryffindor Golden Boy image.

He would have to talk to Hermione.

Harry allowed a smirk to spread across his features as he stared down Draco.

"On one condition. We call each other by our first name." The look of mild contempt that spread across Draco's face almost broke his heart, until his smirk was returned and Draco nodded.

"Fine, as long as you don't get too familiar." Harry just nodded and went to write a letter to Hermione, that they had to talk.

DMHP

Draco met Blaise and Pansy in the main building thirty minutes later, while Potter went to meet with that Granger girl. The two were safely on the second floor, where not many others had gone. Draco made sure to be in perfect viewing range of the other teen, only because he didn't want to be accused of if he ended up being hurt.

"So, Zabini, how is the campaign with Granger going?" Draco asked as he leaned back into his chair and looked his two friends over.

"Just fine. She's been roomed with Bulstrode, but I spoke to her for a few minutes before we were partnered up and had to go up to our rooms. She was hesitant, but not very averse to the idea of speaking with me. I'm with the Turpin girl, the one who got married to some French guy over the summer. Their vows are strict, so it was safe to put her into a room with me." Blaise sat back himself, with a self-satisfied grin on his face. Draco turned to Pansy, the same question in the air between them.

"I approached Ronald, but he seemed to be a bit weirded out. I don't know how I'm going to deal with this, I was never a very good Slytherin." She sounded sheepish and unsure of herself. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Hence why you fell in love with a Gryffindor and got moved to their House. Pansy, we've been over this, as long as you're not a Hufflepuff, we'll still be your friends." Blaise stated firmly.

"Who were you roomed with, Pansy?" Draco asked, a plan already forming in his head to help his friend.

"Lavender Brown, resident gossip..." She trailed off eyes widening as she caught the tail end of Draco's thoughts, "You mean I should use her to my advantage, get the inside scoop of the other side."

"Exactly." He smirked as he leaned back, glancing up at Potter and Granger above them. They were leaning close to each other, apparently arguing over something.

"You need to at least become friends with Potter, Draco. You get his approval, we get theirs." Blaise spoke up sharply, obviously readying himself for an argument.

"Two steps ahead of you. We've come to a truce. I even get to call him Harry." Draco's smirk turned malicious but Pansy rounded a glare off at him.

"Draco Malfoy, you will become his friend, for Blaise and I are going to marry his best friends. It would be in your best interests to do what we ask of you, or you might find yourselves unable to continue the Malfoy line." Draco just nodded to Pansy's threat, as it was always safer to do that.

"Yes, Pansy dear. Perhaps we should all get together for a study session or lunch one day." He simpered out, completely sarcastic.

They took it seriously.

"That's a wonderful idea! Maybe this Friday?"

"I heard Hermione telling Harry that he needed to cook more often, maybe we can get him to cook. Or maybe you can cook, Draco."

"Yes, that's an even better idea. I have wanted some of his pasta for ages! Perhaps they can work together!"

Draco just watched as they proceeded to plan the event. He would have to make sure to ask Severus, maybe his godfather would like to attend it.

It was several minutes before he noticed the commotion coming from Potter's area. Weasley had walked over there and seemed to be causing a ruckus. He was standing over the table, easily towering above his friends, with his face turning a delicious purple color as Harry talked to him calmly, half keeping an eye on his audience. He said something that made the redhead turn white before he sat down.

"Draco, why are you watching Potter like he's a piece of meat?"

"Pansy, dear, Potter is a piece of meat to Draco."

Draco turned to glare at them, but they ignored him.

"Maybe we should try to hook them up, Blaise."

"That's a magnificent idea, Pansy."

"I think we should try that."

"Will you two stop that, please. I'm trying to watch the drama unfold." He sent the two another glare before pointedly turning his attention to Golden Trio, the other two looking on with him.

HPDM

Harry sat down at the table with Hermione, Draco in easy viewing range. He noticed her gaze land on his trembling left arm, hidden from view from everyone else.

"You really should quit, Harry." She said chidingly as her fingers wrapped a little more firmly around her mug of tea.

"I know. That isn't what I need your help with, though." Hermione sat up straighter at his words.

"What is it, Harry?" The concern in her face made him automatically regret not telling her about his infatuation with Draco sooner.

"It's a little hard to explain." Harry stalled.

"Harry, you can talk to me about anything." She leaned forward, resting her fingers on his arm briefly.

"I need your help wooing Draco Malfoy."

That's right, Harry, freak out your friends without even explaining. The rest came out in a rush.

"I've liked him for a long time, 'Mione. Last year, I had an encounter with Snape after I got drunk and he found out. This whole ReSorting was his idea after he found out. Now he's made Draco my partner and roommate. He's giving me a chance to make Draco Malfoy fall for me, but I'm not sure what to do. I mean, he's so smart and handsome, I don't have a chance!" His voice had slowly fallen to a whisper and his gaze ended up on the tabletop, despondent. Sayre licked his cheek.

"It's obvious that you'll have to make him chase you. Nothing else will work." She said briskly after a minute of silence. He looked at her hopefully.

"I know, but how?" Hermione shoved her hand into her satchel and she pulled out a vial of orange potion.

"Take this first. It's my last dose of the temporary relief." She stated strictly, Harry tossed it back without a second thought.

"Snape said that he would make me some." Harry flinched along with her.

"Turning back to the original subject. You have to make him chase you."

"If I knew how I wouldn't have come to you..." He trailed off at the dangerous look in her eyes.

"Don't cross me, Potter."

"Yes, Hermione."

"Now, if you want to get him, you have to grab his attention, but then play hard to get. Wear tight clothes, but when he's staring, walk away. He's just a teen, he's driven by hormones." Her tone turned matter of fact.

"This is true." Harry's eyes darted to the Slytherins down on the main floor. He thanked the House Elf who give him a glass of hot chocolate, the only thing that seemed to make him feel any better these days.

"At least there's only two House Elves that work this building, getting only drinks, and they're not allowed in the dorms." Hermione tossed her hair over her shoulder and Harry had to hide his grin.

"I thought you were through with S.P.E.W.?"

"I'm not going to try to change what seems like their actual personalities. But I can still complain about them, can't I?" She shot him an easy grin.

"Back to Draco, 'Mione."

"Cook for him. I've told you a thousand times that you needed to cook more often. Or have him help you pick out the furniture for your apartment."

"I hate cooking." He grimaced.

"Only once or twice. I love your cooking."

"So does Ron."

"Ron will eat anything."

They both giggled for a few moments before the mood turned serious again.

"I don't know how I'll get Draco to fall for me."

"Don't worry-" A strangled moan stopped her mid statement and they both looked up to see Ron looking at them, his face slowly turning purple.

"Malfoy, Harry?" Harry's green eyes darted around the room, noting that Draco was watching with interest while his other friends talked. No one else seemed to have noticed.

"Yes, _Draco_, now please sit down, Ron, before you make a scene." Harry talked quickly and calmly, trying to calm the redhead down.

"But-but-but!"

"Ron, please sit down before you make me regret having you help me choose an apartment so that you would know the apparition coordinates." This time his voice was firmer and Ron visibly paled before sitting down gingerly. Another glance told Harry that all three of the Slytherins were now watching them avidly.

"_Malfoy_, Harry?" His voice wasn't angry, only disgusted, so Harry took that as a good sign, "Why Malfoy, why not any other bloke? Dean's gay!"

"Hermione, would you go extend a lunch invitation to the Slytherin's in question, maybe I will cook," He never moved his eye's from Ron's blue ones as Hermione nodded and stood up to go do as he had asked, "Why don't you like Draco, Ron?"

"He's a Slytherin!" Luckily his voice didn't go above a normal tone, so Harry pressed some more.

"Is that it? Because if you haven't noticed, I'm a Slytherin now."

"Malfoy's tormented us for six years, mate."

"Not last year. He actually tried to be civil to you a couple of times, despite the insults you flung at him. Makes me wonder why, if he was trying to torment us." Harry already knew that reason though, his friends had chosen Gryffindor's and he was trying to support them, of course this was all in hindsight, but Ron didn't need to know either quite yet.

This time it took his friend a few more minutes to form a reply, so he looked over at Hermione where she talked to the Slytherins. Zabini had drawn her into conversation, most likely about books if the glow in her features was anything to go by. Parkinson was watching Ron while he struggled to figure out what to say. Harry gently pushed Sayre away from the drinks.

Draco was watching him. Harry raised an eyebrow at him before turning to look at Ron when he opened his mouth.

"I.. I guess your right, mate. Maybe I should give them a chance."

"Parkinson is in your House, you could start there." He pointed out while taking a sip of his milk-warm hot chocolate. Ron nodded.

"Yeah, that lunch you told Hermione to invite them too seems like a good idea."

A few minutes later Hermione returned with the news that they would attend. They spent the rest of the day talking about everything but the Slytherins that were all on their minds.

HPDM

Later that day Draco was watching as Potter cleaned the dishes from their dinner, lounging on a barstool again as he did so. Who knew he could cook like that? Apparently not Draco. Potter's cat climbed in front of him for the fifth time an Draco held back a chuckle as Potter glared at the feline. Finally he just picked up the silver tabby and dumped him in Draco's lap, smiling sweetly before walking away.

"Draco, could you hold Sayre please?" Potter asked just as sweetly as he moved back to the sink.

"So the beast has a name?" Not like Draco really cared, he was far more interested in what lay underneath Harry's tight shirt. Wait, no he wasn't. Harry stretched to put a dish away and Draco found his pants growing tighter at the line of lightly tanned flesh that caught his eye.

Damnit! Think of something else, Draco! Anything but Potter and his smooth looking skin that you want to lick... Damnit!

Potter didn't seem to notice his growing problem as he stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth and stretched further, bare feet easily gripping the linoleum.

Potter was bloody gorgeous like that... not that he was going to admit it, or give into any urging from his hormones. He wasn't even sure if the rumor stating him as a flaming homosexual was true or not.

Well... not anytime soon anway.

"Yes, the beast has a name." Potter interrupted his thoughts and Draco shot him a mild glare for the infraction.

"What made you decide to invite the others over for lunch one day, _Harry_?" Potter turned to look at him, hip cocked with one hand fisted on it, emerald green eyes observing him for a minute before turning back to the muggle sink, which was next to the muggle stove and muggle refrigerator.

"Parkinson likes Ron, Zabini likes 'Mione, and vice versa. I figure I can help my friends and your friends at the same time. Especially since my friends won't admit it aloud, they're being stubborn as usual." Draco sat up sharply and smirked at the smaller teen.

"Are you playing matchmaker?"

"If you consider helping out my friends playing matchmaker, than yes."

"Interesting."

"Draco, the fact that we're having a completely civil conversation while I'm doing domestic chores is a miracle, me playing matchmaker is not all that amazing when compared to that. I did hook up Ginny and Neville last year." Potter never turned around, but Draco got the impression that he was slightly bitter about it.

"What, were you hoping for the Weaselette's hand?" He sneered, Potter shot him an incredulous glance.

"Draco, I'm gay." Draco ignored the goosebumps he got from hearing his name uttered in Potter's soft voice.

"Longbottom's than." This time he got an eye roll.

"No, not Neville either."

"Where is Longbottom?" Draco picked up an apple from the bowl of fruits in the middle of the table and took a bite of it.

"His grandmother's home schooling him. Going to the Ministry of Magic in fifth year got him into a lot of trouble, so he can't leave their house or estate until he passes his Newts." Potter put away the last dish and got a rag to wipe down the counters and stove with.

Draco's eyes tracked his every move, gently petting Sayre with one hand as he did so.

"Of course." Draco forced his eyes off of Potter's arse and onto the blackboard that hung above the stove that listed all of their assignments that had yet to be turned in. Only two essay's were listed, transfiguration and herbology.

"I'm going to go ahead and go take a shower and go to bed. Night Draco, come on Sayre." With that, Potter left Draco to go to bed, having arranged earlier that Draco would take his showers in the morning, when he could take all the time he wanted to.

HPDMHPDMHPDM

4,263 words in the chapter itself, 4,628 total. Not bad if I say so myself.

Names sent in by reviewers, I changed the format that I list them in, so it might be a bit confusing:

thelastcrumpet Jennifer(Welsh/English)- Fair-haired; beautiful perfection

proud-to-be-crazy-4-ever Iwan- Welsh variation for John, which is Hebrew for God has been gracious

Melissa(English/Scottish/Welsh/Greek/Spanish/Portuguese)- Hunny Bee (thanks, XxMissyxX)

blood red tensai MaggieMargret/Magdalene-

Maggie(Greek/Irish/English)- Priceless pearl

Margret(Greek/Scottish/English)- Treasured pearl; pure-spirited

Magdalene(Greek/Scandinavian)- Spiritual

Nikotehfox Serena(Latin)- Calm

Michelle- One who is like god (thanks, tilly-tally-tease)

Thanks for all of your reviews! Please keep enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!


	5. Just a Game of Truth or Dare

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own anything from the Harry Potter Universe. Sayre is of my own creation and if anyone else wants to use him, just let me know.

Note: MWAHAHAHAHA!! coughcoughhackhack

Goal: 4,500 words, or eight pages

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Five**

**Just a Game of Truth or Dare**

Harry frowned as he slowly sat up in bed the next day, Sayre still sleeping on the pillow next to his and the sound of the shower running made it past his notice for a brief second, before the reminder of what was going on and where he was made itself known.

You see, he still had no idea how to catch Draco's attention and make him chase him in a romantic manner. Hermione's advice, tight shirts, was very likely to not work. The silver one he had worn yesterday hadn't had any effect on Draco, as far as he could tell anyway. Maybe he should take the advice that he had given Dudley over the summer and unwittingly got his cousin a girlfriend while he did so. She was truly Dudley's counterpart, both had viciously tormented him.

Anyway, the advice was that Dudley should act like himself. Harry's exact words were, "No one can not fall for your charming personality." He was being completely sarcastic, but it appeared that _Dudders_ wouldn't know sarcasm if it bit him in the ass, which it did anytime Harry opened his mouth around him these days.

Shaking that out of his head he stretched one more time and stood up, pushing the matter from his mind. He'd wear a normal shirt and jeans today, the one from yesterday being his only really tight one. Luckily for him, there was a plain red one with short sleeves that he had gotten when he had found a chance to go shopping without his aunt and uncle shadowing him.

Sometimes being forced to chaperon Dudley and his girlfriend had its good points, like being told to bugger off while they were snogging.

He pulled on a pair of jeans and before he went to make their breakfast, stopped and dug around in his trunk for the contacts that Hermione had made him get over the summer while the Weasley's had headed into London for an appoint that Mr. Weasley had to get to, and just reminded him about while they were talking yesterday. Nagini's venom was still giving him problems, a year and a half after the attack had occurred.

Ron had found the experience at the muggle optometrist to be interesting enough that he had asked enough questions to put his dad to shame and confuse the man looking at Harry's eyes. When they had finally rejoined Molly and Arthur, the contacts were going to be sent to the Weasley's house by muggle mail within a week, the two men had bent their red heads close and muttered about it the whole time.

Chuckling as he remembered that, Harry walked into the kitchen area and pulled out some bread and popped it into the toaster, he would have to ask Snape why there were so many muggle appliances around. Hermione's excuse had been the possible teaching experience and Harry had to laugh as he thought about the reaction that some of the purebloods would have had when they tried to cook for the first time, probably the first time in their whole lives.

Shoving that from his mind as well, he pulled out some eggs and bacon. Harry only had to deal with cooking breakfast everyday and lunch every other day. Yesterday was an exception to the rule, as he had to show Draco how to use a couple of the appliances. This time his smile was gentle as he thought about Draco's competence in the kitchen last night.

It had been a very pleasant surprise to see that the blond was not as spoiled as Harry had thought he was. His mother had enrolled him in a muggle culinary class when he had been a child, to teach him the value of House Elves, Draco had said. Either way he had come out of the class wanting to learn even more and his mother had given him the lessons as a summer gift every year since then. When he had asked Harry how he learned to cook, Harry had only smiled at him and told him that his aunt had taught him how to cook for himself for when he was at home alone with his cousin.

Only a mild lie, a half truth really. Harry was used to it by now though, after all, Ron still didn't know about the drinking that he indulged in and Hermione had only found out because he needed someone to help him.

Smiling down at Sayre, who was sitting politely, waiting for a treat of some sort. Harry complied by giving the overly polite cat a piece of bacon. Sayre took it gently and Harry chuckled at the flick of the cat's tail as he devoured it delicately.

He should have named the cat Draco.

"You gave your cat bacon?" Harry whirled around in surprise and stared at Draco with wide eyes, mouth watering for something other than breakfast.

Draco hadn't dried off completely and drops of water fell lazily across his bare chest and abs as he leaned against the door frame wearing only a pair of low slung jeans. His hair was not dried and hung elegantly, framing his face and outlining his mercurial eyes and ever present smirk. Harry felt his face start to heat up so he turned back to the stove quickly, poking at the eggs.

"Y-yes." Damnit! Harry stabbed them a bit too hard as he recognized the depression hanging over his slowly growing headache. The trembling started up in his left arm and he almost tore it off in his enlarging frustration.

"Harry? Why are you red?" Bloody fucking perfec. Now Draco sounded amused at his plight, even though he didn't know what said plight was. Could Harry's life get any more hellish?

Apparently it could, for a plain barn owl swooped in and dropped a letter with Snape's signature at the bottom.

_I need to learn to keep my mouth shut..._ Harry glared at it and picked it up, eyes scanning it quickly as he irritably pushed Sayre's playful paws away from his toes.

'_Potter,_

_I require your presence at lunch today, there is something that I must speak with you about. Do not worry about missing lunch._

_Severus Snape_'

Growling in annoyance, he put everything onto two plates before pulling out the pumpkin juice from the fridge for Draco. He had a mug of hot chocolate already made and sitting next to the stove. Setting the plate on the bar for Draco he went to his trunk and dug out a headache reliever that he had bought at Diagon Alley. He was starting to run low on them, he'd have to talk to Snape about that, since the snarky professor seemed to like him now.

Damn.

Throwing the empty vial back down he pulled out a ball with a bell in it for Sayre from a bag of catnip that he kept it stored in. Watching the cat freak out over the smell always seemed to bring a smile to his face no matter what mood he was in. Draco would probably enjoy the amusement.

Rolling the purple ball past Sayre, who darted after it and almost ran into the wall, he took his seat across from Draco, who was watching the cat run into the leg of the coffee table. He raised an eyebrow at Harry.

"What's got your knickers in a knot?" There was no actual concern in his voice.

"Woke up with a headache." Harry replied easily, barely glancing over at him while resisting the urge to fiddle with his glasses, which were not on his face but sitting in his trunk.

"Who'll make lunch today?" Draco asked this time and Harry simply handed him the note from Snape. Draco read it and raised his eyebrow at his godfather's message.

"If you want me to, it would be an easy matter to just throw something together that you can warm up later." Harry offered, looking at the taller male through his eyelashes shyly. He was not cut out to be in Slytherin, why did the hat have to put him here?

"I'll be fine on my own," Draco snorted, "And what happened to your glasses? Did you break them?"

"I have contacts in." Harry shrugged and fought down the blush rising in his face.

"What are contacts?"

"Muggles use them instead of glasses."

"I see." They sat in silence for another few minutes. Harry fought to find something to say, after all the man that he wanted to marry was sitting across from him and was completely open and receptive to him at this moment in time.

Maybe everything Snape was doing for him was for naught. Draco could never like him, he had hated Harry for five years. Last year's cease fire had only been for his friends. Suddenly the genial air that had filled the air was tense and oppressive, the silence only broken by the jiggling of the bell in Sayre's ball.

DMHP

"You look cuter without your glasses anyway." Draco didn't really know what had driven him to say that sentence, but seeing the increasingly depressed slump in Potter's shoulders had pulled the words out of his mouth. It wasn't like he was lying, at least. Potter did look cute, with or without his glasses, whether Draco admitted it aloud or even to himself. A smirk spread across his face as he saw the flush rising in the smaller teens face, almost matching his shirt.

"Th-thank you." Emerald eyes flicked upwards to meet his rather demurely, confusion etched into the pupils. Draco stood up and put his plate in the sink, running water over it for a minute before taking a seat next to Potter this time.

"How far are you willing to go to get your friends together?" Draco asked quietly, leaning forward as he took a sniff of Potter's natural scent. Did Potter sway slightly in his direction, or was that just his imagination?

"I'm talking to you about this, aren't I?" Potter shot him a mild glare, but there was no true heat behind it and Draco's smirk grew a little broader.

"Let's start to hang out, all six of us. Try to get them to talk on their own, Harry. Once they see the example we're setting..." Draco trailed off, knowing his voice had gotten huskier as he had talked. Potter's blush was now blazing and Draco nearly pouted when he stood up and took his plate and cup to the sink, dropping them in and running water in them. Draco frowned when he saw the trembling left arm, but shrugged it off a minute later. He didn't really care about that.

"That sounds like a good plan. I'll ask Snape during lunch about having them over for lunch every week, or something. If he doesn't poison me, that is." Amusement rolled off of Potter and Draco had to raise an eyebrow. What was that about?

"Alright." With that Draco went to put on a shirt and boots. The dress code was relaxed in these buildings and Draco chose to wear the muggle clothes that Pansy had introduced him to the summer that his father had been incarcerated, to get his mind off of the anger that he had felt towards Potter.

Now he wondered how he could have felt. Sure, Potter may be the Gryffindor Golden Boy, but he wasn't like Draco had thought he was. He had already learned a lot about the other boy, somethings that he might not even know himself.

Like, did Potter know that he talked in his sleep? Draco doubted it. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to hear much of what he was saying.

Draco could hear Potter picking up the cat's ball and mutter something before walking into sight and place the object on his trunk. Potter leaned down to grab his shoes and put them on before turning to face him.

"Why aren't you wearing robes?" Potter asked and Draco smirked.

"Why aren't you?" He shot back and Harry tilted his head slightly.

"These are more comfortable."

"There's your answer." With that Draco turned and walked out of their rooms, heading down the stairs and into the main building. He could hear Potter's soft footsteps following him. When Draco stopped he felt Potter run into his back. Draco turned around and Potter stopped rubbing his nose.

"Sorry."

"I'll meet you and your friends up on the third floor." Without waiting for a reply he walked off towards where Pansy and Blaise were sitting and waiting for him.

"What was that about, Draco? You didn't bite his head off for touching you." Draco ignored the comment and only smirked at them victoriously.

"Potter knows that you like his friends."

"Why did you tell him?!" Pansy nearly shrieked and her hands started to tremble as she bit her lip, all sorts of problems running through her mind as she worried.

"He'll stop us, Draco. You know that. He's protective of his friends, especially since Black died."

"Then why did he invite all of us for lunch one day?" Draco shot back and grinned when he saw that they hadn't even thought about that, "Look, he knows, he's fine with it, in fact, he's encouraging it. We are all going to sit on the third floor with them. Now. Before he changes his mind and decides that his friends shouldn't fall in love with either of you, even if they already have crushes formed."

The last bit propelled them into action and they stood up and walked to the stairs leading to the topmost floor. Draco followed them, smirking. Potter wasn't as dumb as Draco used to make him out to be.

He stepped off of the last stair and raised an eyebrow at the sight that met his eyes.

His friends were muttering in Potter's ear as they hid slightly behind him. Granger and Weasley were sitting on couches that were arranged in front of a large brick fireplace. The third floor seemed to be one large balcony, made for privacy. No one else was up here and Draco decided to claim this place for himself and his friends and Potter's friends as well.

Reminding himself of Potter, he scowled slightly at his friends, who seemed to be genuinely worried under their Slytherin masks. Potter was gently soothing them, and Draco pushed away the surge of irrational jealousy as he raised his eyebrow again. This time at the sight of Potter's friends walking up to him.

"What's going on, Malfoy?" Granger was polite, standing with her arms folded over her waist as she stared him down. Weasley stood next to her, fidgeting from one foot to the other, but he met Draco's eyes evenly, a challenge deep in them.

"It seems that Harry knows something that neither of you are willing to admit." At this their faces turned bright red and Draco smirked.

"Why are you calling him by his first name?" Amazingly enough, the redhead wasn't belligerent, so Draco decided to answer his question honestly.

"We came to a truce and Harry wanted that to insure that we get along." They glanced at each other, eyes wide. Granger looked at him again, face blank.

"Do you know why?"

"Harry most likely knows that if I call him by his first name, I'll eventually come to trust him on some instinctual level. It's just the way that a person's mind works," At Weasley's shocked blink Draco continued, "Don't worry, Harry won't fall for me. He's much to distrusting for that."

Granger snorted. Draco was about to interrogate her on that when Potter walked over, a smirk blazoned across his face and his eyes bright with something that made Draco's pants suddenly seem a little bit smaller.

"Come one, 'Mione, Ron, Draco. Let's go sit down." Potter bodily pulled his friends over and pushed them into two seats, Granger next to Blaise and Weasley next to Pansy. Their faces lit up simultaneously and Draco wondered if that was something that all Gryffindors suffered from, even if they weren't in that House anymore.

"Harry, it's the second day of school, we should get started on our assignments." Granger stared at Potter, pleading with her eyes. Potter and Weasley both groaned.

"Mione, I love you, but we have until Friday to do two essays. Each only a foot and a half long. We can do them tomorrow!" Draco felt another surge of jealousy at Potter's words and he frowned, pushing it away.

"Yeah, Hermione. Come on, we have all week, we do. Just give us today to hang out and get used to the new arrangements!" Pansy smiled and giggled slightly at the whinging tone in Weasley's voice. Blaise smiled and stretched his arm out on the back of the couch as Granger pouted slightly.

"Fine." She crossed her arms and leaned back, seeming unaware of Blaise's arm only an inch away from her.

"I hate Scrimgeour." Weasley spoke up and Draco felt Potter tense up slightly and look at him with a pained expression as he moved his left arm out of view completely.

"Ron, please, not right now." Potter requested quietly and Weasley rubbed the back of his head.

"Merlin. Sorry Harry, I forgot." He grimaced when Granger smacked his arm.

"You better be sorry, Ronald Weasley, you know how much Harry hates to talk about the ministry. The most you can do is try to remember that." Weasley looked even more sheepish but Granger looked like she was about to continue. Potter sighed mournfully, this must happen a lot. Draco spoke up before Granger could draw enough breath.

"We could always play a game." Everyone looked at him in shock. He simply raised an eyebrow at their expressions.

"Let's play that muggle game, truth or dare! It sounds like so much fun!" Pansy clapped her hands once and Granger grinned along with her.

"I played that with my cousin once, I ended up kissing this ugly boy!" Granger made a face and Pansy giggled and turned to Potter.

"Have you ever played it?" Draco frowned when he saw the flinch that Potter hid expertly behind a grin and a grimace.

"I had to kiss a bloody ugly girl. She tried to eat me. Decided that I preferred boys after that." Granger and Pansy giggled at that while Blaise raised an eyebrow in Draco's direction, smirk spreading across his face.

"Sounds like a good idea." He stated and grinned at Draco's glare.

"I'm up for a game. Last time we played that at home we got Fred and George, we did." Weasley grinned and leaned back, mimicking Blaise's position without realizing it. That left Draco and Potter.

"No thanks." Potter's grin was alright, but something lurked in the depths that reminded Draco of the day that they had to rescue Pansy's from her father's wrath.

"I agree with Harry." Was all he said, lounging back, arms crossed across his lap. The other four looked at him and suddenly Pansy smirked like Draco taught her to. A shiver sped down his spine.

"Awww! Draco and Harry like each other!" She looked at Hermione who grinned at her.

"I bet they'll have beautiful babies, don't you, Pans?"

"Yes, they'll have to make me the godmother of one of their children, maybe a set of twins." Hermione nodded enthusiastically.

"Fine! I'll play!" Harry threw up his hands, face blazing and he turned to Draco, asking with his eyes. Draco sighed and nodded. Granger had some Slytherin in her, it seemed. No wonder Blaise liked her. The girls cheered and high-fived each other. Harry sighed and turned to a House elf, asking for some hot chocolate. Draco added an order of tea. The others added what they wanted and Draco smirked as Blaise ordered for Hermione, instantly stating what she wanted without hesitation. Granger shot him a curious look, but let him do that. Weasley, not to be outdone, ordered them all a tray of cookies.

Potter grinned at that, a gleam entering his eyes, and Draco cursed himself for not thinking of that first. Then stopped and wondered why he even cared.

"I thought the girls might like them." Weasley shot Blaise a grin and the French teen frowned along with Draco.

"Than what am I?" Harry raised an eyebrow at his friend, who started to stammer. Pansy looked at the raven haired boy, perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised.

"You are built to carry children, Harry." Granger's eyebrow shot to her hair line. Draco could feel Harry's surprise.

"I didn't know that wizards could bare children." Within two seconds she was prepared to interrogate Pansy.

"Hermione." Harry's voice was strangled and Granger reddened and frowned.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I forgot about... never mind." She shot a glance at Draco, her frown deepening.

"Let's just play the game." He responded, forcing a grin out.

"I'll go first." She said in a placating manner. Everyone nodded.

DMHP

Harry really didn't want to be reminded of the fact that the only one he ever wanted to have children with was Draco, despite his desire for a family outweighing everything else. It just wasn't worth the stab that went through his heart every single time he thought about it.

"Ron, truth or dare?" Hermione's voice broke through his thoughts and he looked up to see his what would happen.

"Dare, I'm not afraid." His chest puffed out and Harry giggled quietly.

"I dare you to... sing that Weird Sister's song I caught you listening to with this summer on the Wizard Radio." Ron blushed hotly and Harry giggled even louder. He remembered that day, they had all teased him mercilessly about the incident for days.

"Hermione, please!" He squeaked out.

"No, sorry Ron. You have to do it." Frowning Ron stood up slowly and sung the song quietly. His voice was only average, but Harry didn't mind listening to it. Grinning at his friend's discomfort, he toed off his shoes and curled his legs up under him, Sayre jumping into his lap, his exploring done. Everyone clapped when he was finished, his blush deepened.

"That was good Ron!" Parkinson lightly touched his shoulder. He looked at her, shocked. Hermione shot an amazed look at Harry, who only grinned at her.

"Alright. Zabini, truth or dare." Zabini's response wasn't automatic.

"Dare." He said slowly, his dark eyes calculating.

"I dare you to hold Hermione in your lap."

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione's flush was off the charts and Harry couldn't hold in his laughter that time. This time she turned her glare to him, but Harry only shrugged. He had had to deal with Draco's glares all his Hogwarts life, this was nothing.

"Payback Hermione." Ron cackled and Harry's laugh stopped at the sound.

"Alright." Zabini didn't hesitate in pulling Hermione into his lap. Her glare lessened considerably as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, resting his chin on her shoulder and her back against his chest. Harry felt a flare of jealousy, but he pushed it down and grinned at her. She returned it, although a bit hesitantly.

"Draco, truth or dare." Harry turned to Draco and his eyes widened. Draco had slung his arm across the back of the couch and Harry's hair lightly brushed it every time he moved his head and aristocratic fingers lightly touched the cloth of his shirt on his shoulder. Harry did his best to ignore it, turning back to face Draco, who was smirking slightly. He must not know that he had put it there.

"I would take truth, but since none of you have, I guess I'll settle for dare. I don't want to look like a Hufflepuff, after all." He chuckled slightly and Harry felt his face turn bright red at the sound.

Shit. Slytherins-or would they be former Slytherins?-were looking at him. They'd know for sure. They'd tell Draco and Draco would hate him. Snape wouldn't be able to do anything if that happened! Harry kept the groan to himself and the panic out of his eyes and face as best as he could. Nothing would happen right away. They wouldn't want to do something drastic. There was no reason to panic and cause a scene. After a minute his breathing evened out.

"I dare you to kiss Potter, and don't be a ninny about it. I want to see some serious action." Harry's heart stopped in his chest. He had to have heard wrong. He turned to stare at them and saw the reason for the dare.

Hermione was whispering in Zabini's ear. She was going to have some serious explaining to do, but not right now. Right now he was more concerned with Draco's slim fingers gripping his chin and gently pulling him until their eyes met. He barely felt Sayre jump out of his lap at Ron's urging. No, Draco's beautiful gray eyes were all that he saw. The orbs were filled with confusion and determination and something else flickered in their depths, but it was gone so fast that Harry couldn't identify it. This couldn't happen, he wouldn't let it! He opened his mouth to tell Draco that he could tell Zabini to do something else entirely, but he didn't give Harry a chance to do that. He leaned down and tenderly touched their lips together, moving his over Harry's softly.

His resolve lasted for only seconds.

Harry's eyes slid shut and he gripped the front of Draco's white shirt as he leaned into the kiss. Draco's other arm slid around his waist and his tongue slipped into Harry's mouth, gently coaxing Harry's tongue into action. Draco's arm tightened around his waist and his other hand tracing Harry's cheekbone as their tongues met and danced. After another minute Draco pulled back slowly, but didn't stay too far away as Harry's eyes slid open slowly to meet Draco's, warm air brushing his slightly swollen lips.

Harry didn't know for how long he stayed in that position. He could have stayed there and drowned in Draco's eyes for the rest of his life, with his heart hammering in his chest. Draco swayed slightly into him again and Harry tilted his head and their lips met for a second time when the old grandfather clock in the corner chimed out the hour in long, loud peals of it's bells, bringing Harry back down to reality harsh and fast enough that his head spinned.

He jumped up, mourning the loss of the warm arms as the chill set into his bones as he left, muttered something about his lunch with Snape and ran down the stairs, Sayre following him on silent feet.

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

4458 words and almost nine full pages. I exceeded one goal and almost got to the other. Good. I could have kept going, but I decided to stop there. I'm not going to keep this pure romance like I wanted to. If I did this story wouldn't last long and I have plans for it, like going over 60,000 words total. I want to get over 1000,000, but I doubt I will.

One question, do you guys think I'm moving too fast for them, or should I slow it down some? There are other things I'm running through my mind, like having Mpreg involved, but that bit's up for debate right now.

Thanks to those of you who have sent in names either to find out the meaning, or because the meaning was interesting.

Mizu1411 Ariel(French/Hebrew)- Heavenly Singer.

LillybeMaxine(Latin)- Greatest of all

Anwynd Shannon(Irish)- Smart

Love2LoveLeigh(English)- Light-footed

KokouChrissy(English)- Short for Christina, which is Latin, English, French for faithful

Thanks again and keep reading and enjoying Golden Boy!

Midnight Out.


	6. First Attack

Disclaimer: I do now own Harry Potter, but I do own Sayre.

WOOT! I've got 117 reviews! By my calculations, my 100th reviewer was Kokou, congrats, this chapter is dedicated to you.

Hermione's POV is at the end of this chapter, I had fun writing it, actually. She's a lot like me.

Goal: 4,500 words or 7 pages

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Six**

**First Attack**

Draco watched in confusion as Harry fled down the stairs, arms falling to his lap. True, it was time for lunch and it was always better not to make his godfather mad if one could help it. What didn't make sense was that Harry had ran without a backward glance, as if there were hell-hounds on his tail.

That's what wouldn't let itself fit comfortably into any sort of pattern with Harry's behavior. The teen was a Gryffindor, sure, he resided in Slytherin at the moment, but he was still a Gryffindor. Harry would not run anything unless something truly scared him.

And when in Merlin's name did he start _thinking_ of him as Harry?

Frowning, Draco leaned back against the back of the couch and solidly met Weasley's gaze. He could feel Granger's against the other side of his head and his very reliable Slytherin sense told him to expect an interrogation.

"Why did you kiss Harry?" Figures Granger would be the one to start. Draco turned to look at her. He knew very well that Granger had told Blaise the dare, he had seen her whispering in his ear. He knew that Har-Potter had seen it too. He had seen those jade eyes widen with shock and fear.

"It was a dare." Draco shrugged, just fine with letting this slide until he knew more. Pansy and Blaise would understand.

But apparently not the other two.

Weasley jumped out of his seat and glared at him, blue eyes becoming ice as he glared at him.

"Really? It was only a dare to you? Nothing else behind it at all? Because it sure as bloody hell looked like something else was behind it to me." Draco raised an eyebrow as Granger came to stand next to the Weasel, staring at Draco pensively.

"Malfoy, no, Draco, Harry means the world to us. And we mean the world to him." Her voice was calm, her hands gently folded at her waist, but her eyes were as hard as a rock that had withstood earthquake after earthquake and had never once been broken or dislodged.

"What is this about?" He refrained from smirking, as they narrowed their eyes at him. Instead he pasted a look of concern on his face.

It wasn't a complete lie, he did want to know what made Har-_Potter_ dash off after a kiss that had been absolutely bloody brilliant.

"You know nothing about Harry, you may pretend to, but you don't. Merlin, he doesn't even let us, his best friends, in all the time. There are things that you will never know, and there are things that we will never know. So, Malfoy, you're gonna have to prove to all of us that you deserve him in any way. Do you hear me?" By the end of Weasley's impromptu speech, he was only a foot away from the couch that Draco sat on. Granger was nodding her head from where she still stood.

"Yes, I hear you. I just don't know what you're talking about," Pansy sudden gasp from where she sat had all of them turning in her direction. Her hands where shaking and she was pale. Draco frowned when she remained quiet and composed, "Pansy?"

"I think I know what they're talking about." Her face slowly rose until she was looking Draco in the eye.

"Pansy," He knew that look. It was the look that she got whenever something reminded her of her father and her mothers inability to leave him, "Potter's life couldn't have been like that. He was probably pampered by his relatives." Draco lazily waved a hand.

He could tell that the Weasley was going to deny anything that Draco said, but, amazingly, it was neither of Potter's friends who spoke up in his defense.

It was Blaise. He was tapping his chin in thought as he stared into the fire.

"Draco, I think Pans is on to something. Think of Potter's behavior. When has he ever willingly gone into the spotlight? Never, unless it's to help someone else. He's always hiding in the shadows in some way or other. That sort of reaction could have come from a similar upbringing." Draco frowned further as the possibilities ran through his mind. It would explain a lot of his behavior, there was no doubt about that.

"What are you three talking about?" Weasley's voice grated on his nerves and Granger intercepted the question before Draco could shoot off an insult at him.

"Ron, I think they're saying that Pansy had a similar home life as Harry." Her hand was gently touching his elbow and Draco looked at Blaise to see that he was glaring the Weasley.

"Really?" Weasley looked at Pansy and Draco smirked as he went to sit next to her again. Granger sat next to Blaise and Draco had to keep from laughing at the blush that spread across her face as Blaise's arm settled across her shoulders.

"Maybe I should tell them, Draco." Pansy looked at him uncomfortably, looking at him for his opinion as she usually did when it came to this.

"It's up to you, Pansy." He shrugged and she nodded, opening her mouth to explain.

"My father was not a... nice man," She ignored Draco's snort at the understatement, "Most of the time he only scolded me for things that I didn't do. Other times he didn't acknowledge my accomplishments. If I failed something, I was either locked in the manor dungeon or..." Here she trailed off and Draco picked up the narration as Weasley patted her shoulder.

"He once held her under C_rucio_ for five minutes for failing a test. Another time he threatened her with the Killing Curse, while he held her under the Torture curse for ten minutes, just for mentioning that she didn't mind muggles or muggleborns. The list goes on and on. Tell me, does this, in any way, compare to Potter's life?" Draco snarled at Granger, who was only nodding sadly. Pansy was leaning against Weasley, drawing on him for strength and comfort that he willingly gave.

"It does, the only real difference is that Harry's relatives could not use magic." Weasley stopped her from going any further, looking at Draco nervously.

"'Mione, is it necessary to tell them? I mean, Harry wouldn't want them to know, I think." Granger shot him a glare.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, you know exactly how Harry feels, I think that it's high time someone stepped in to help him." Weasley flinched and looked at the floor.

There was more to Granger than Draco originally thought, it seemed. She was good enough to marry Blaise at least. Draco nodded slightly to his friend who grinned and pulled Granger closer to his side. She didn't notice, seemingly waiting for some other reaction from the redhead.

"Alright, Hermione. You win."

"Thank you, Ron. Now, about Harry," She turned to look at Draco again, meeting his gaze without fear or hesitation, "Harry's relatives didn't like magic, so they didn't like Harry. His first bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs. He stayed there until he was almost eleven. Then his relatives moved him to his cousin's _second bedroom_. Before the second year they put bars on the windows and a cat flap on the door to feed him. He had to deal with verbal and emotional abuse every year until he could move out." Her voice slowly grew harsher until tears stood in her eyes and she dashed them away angrily.

"What about physical abuse?" Blaise's voice was soft as he tightened his hold on her.

Granger just sighed and nodded slowly.

"They starved him every chance they got. His cousin's favorite game for years was Harry hunting with his friends. That's how he can run so fast, because the few times they caught him they beat him horribly. It never got very bad, they were always afraid of him, but if he did anything that in some way outshone Dudley, his cousin, he would be pushed into his 'bedroom' and get bruises on his arm."

"How do you know this, if he doesn't always let you in." Blaise shot Draco a glare for questioning an obviously upset Granger, but it didn't look like she really cared. Not to mention that Draco had a feeling that she wasn't telling everything.

"He had nightmares the first couple of years he was here. They died down in his third year, when he finally met Remus. But, until that happened, Ron constantly was telling me about them. Some he told us, the other stuff we had to find out by ourselves." She sniffed and rested her head on Blaise's shoulder, welcoming the comfort. Pansy was sitting up straight now as she watched Draco like a hawk.

"Now we now why he's so much smaller than everyone else." She said calmly and Draco nodded.

"And why he tried to not draw any attention to himself."

"Don't let Harry know we told you. We do not want to face his temper again." Weasley shivered slightly and Granger nodded slowly.

"He would not be happy if he found out that you knew. We shouldn't have told you in the first place, but I think it's high time someone started looking out for him besides himself."

Draco agreed, "Alright. I see no problem with that. Now, if you do not mind, I wish to go make myself some lunch." With that he stood up and strode off.

He needed some time to think without anyone bothering him as he did so.

Harry's friends spoke only the truth, that much was glaringly obvious. That meant that anything he previously thought about the Golden Boy was either false or greatly exaggerated. And how did Severus fit into this? Had his godfather found out about Harry and even now was trying to find ways to make him open up? It fit in with the behavior that his godfather had displayed in the past. Draco just shook his head as he climbed up the stairs, ignoring Nott's and Boot's partially opened door. The idiots had probably just forgotten to close it all the way.

Draco ascended the last few stairs to his room, slowly compartmentalizing his thoughts for easier access as he did so. He needed to get Harry off of his mind for a little while. There were other questions that required his attention.

Like why Harry's cat was trying to scratch a hole through their door.

DMHP

Harry took several deep breaths before he knocked on Snape's door. When the deep voice told him to enter he did so, nearly slamming the door on Sayre's tail in the process.

"Harry? What is it?" Snape stood up from the table and hurried over to him.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it, professor." Harry shook off the concerned gaze and sat down slowly, setting a small saucer of cat food on the floor for Sayre.

"It's Severus. And something is wrong, your Occlumency needs work." Snape sat down across from his and took a sip of whatever was in his goblet, and Harry let the intrusion in his mind go for now. It didn't really matter, when compared to what else was going on. Harry chewed on his bottom lip for a minute before responding, not even bothering to choose his words as he did so.

"We kissed!" He banged his head on the table and Snape only raised an eyebrow at him, calmly eating a bit of his stew as Harry's left arm continued to tremble.

"That was rather fast." Harry wailed quietly, not caring anymore that this man was a spy and couldn't be trusted.

"It was on a dare! Zabini dared him to do it and Hermione told Zabini to dare him to do it!" He banged his head on the table again and heard Snape put his spoon down. Harry glanced up after a minute and a vial filled with a familiar orange potion was thrust under his nose. Harry gulped it down without a second thought, relief coursing through him as he did so.

"A dare? He did it on a dare?" Snape's voice was calm but even Harry knew that it wouldn't last. Next would come the lecture that, as a Slytherin, he should have tried harder to keep his emotions from showing.

"Yes. Now his friends know that I like him and will tell him and he'll _hate_ me!"

"Harry, snap out of it. You're overreacting. Now eat your stew before I make you." Harry did as he was told, but only after he glared at the other man for several seconds.

The quiet wasn't stifling in the slightest and Harry found himself slowly calming down. Snape was right, this could be worked with. It would be better if he hadn't run off like a coward, but he could downplay that a bit. Maybe he could say that he in no way wanted to anger the Potions Master. Or maybe he could make it work by saying that the kiss was surprisingly good and he needed time to cool down before he met Snape. It wasn't as big a deal as he first thought that it was.

Snape finally set his spoon down, "Now, Harry, tell me. What are you doing to woo my godson?"

Harry sighed, "Nothing right now. I've only been his dorm mate for about twenty four hours." He set his spoon down as well and sipped the pumpkin juice.

"That is more than enough time." Harry shot a mild glare at Snape.

"I've thought about everything, but nothing I can think of will work."

"What have you thought about?" Harry sighed as he checked on Sayre, who was cleaning his paws next to his chair. Odd, usually he was playing directly after lunch.

"Hermione suggested that I play court to his hormones. Or something like that." Harry sighed and rested his cheek on his hand.

"I see you are not wearing your glasses today." Snape pointed out calmly.

"Yeah, I got tired of them and got some muggle contacts."

"They make your eyes shine." Harry looked at Snape in shock. They did? He wore them because he got tired of his glasses falling off, and Hermione made him wear them.

"I...I guess so..." He trailed off and Snape continued to appraise him silently.

"Your shirt tightens slightly across your chest and shows off your muscles. Your pants, what I saw of them, accentuates your legs and...bum." The last word came out a bit strangled and Harry grinned at Snape's look of utter embarrassment.

"I guess so. I could keep wearing clothes like this. Although I wish I could go shopping a bit more often." Harry sighed again and gazed dreamily at the wall.

"All you need to go to Hogsmeade now is your Head of House's permission. Dumbledore decided to trust the seventh years with that privilege." Snape sneered at the house elf who came to retrieve their bowls. Harry rolled his eyes at the display.

"Alright than, can I go to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Harry smiled politely at the older man, who only smirked.

"Only if Draco escorts you." This time Harry glared at the smug look on the man's face

"Sod off."

Snape's smirk only grew.

"Only than, that is my requirement."

"Fine! I'll see if he'll go with me. Happy?" Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice as his glare intensified.

"I will be once you learn Occlumency. Perhaps I can get Draco to teach you." This time Snape was sounding fairly pensive so Harry let him go for a minute before opening his mouth to ask another question.

"Can Hermione, Blaise, Ron, and Pansy come over every Saturday for lunch?" This time his smile was a bit more along the lines of a puppy dog pout and Severus raised his eyebrows clean to his hairline.

"Why?" The astonishment shone through in his voice and Harry only grinned in triumph.

"I'm trying to get them together, but I need them in the same room to do so."

"A Potter playing matchmaker. How interesting." Snape's eyes were filled with mirth as Harry shrugged.

"Deal with it. I want them happy, but my friends are too stubborn to admit who they like, especially Ron." Harry sighed and rolled his eyes at his best friend's thickheadedness.

"I guess you can have a lunch with them every Saturday. As long as I come to insure that no improper behavior is going on." Harry stuck out his tongue.

"You're just lonely. Admit it."

"Yes, Harry, I am a lonely old man." Snape sneered sarcastically at him and Harry grinned. Maybe he could invite Remus to come to some of them...

A frown spread across his face as thoughts of Remus filled his head. He hadn't thought about the older man in a long time and he felt a little guilty about that. He was really the only link that Harry had left to his parents and Sirius. Although, Snape might count, but Harry wasn't too sure about that.

"Harry, what's wrong this time?" Snape's concerned and mildly irritated voice met his ears and Harry frowned slightly as he looked at the older man.

"Can Remus come too? I haven't talked to him in a while." Snape's eyebrow rose again at the name, but he nodded all the same.

"Of course. Anything else?" Harry chewed on his bottom lip for a minute before deciding that this was one question that he could not leave alone.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You should be telling me to sod off and stay away from your godson. You shouldn't be encouraging this and helping me!" Harry looked at the Potions Master, knowing that tears were filling his eyes and trying to hold them back rather futilely.

"Harry, for your first question, you answered that yourself yesterday. You are not only a Potter, you are also an Evans and right now I see more Lily than I do James," He smirked and Harry blinked, "For your second statement, I do not want my godson to turn out like his father, that would not do him any good at all. I think you could be the one to change that about him."

He grinned at Snape than, standing up and retrieving Sayre from where the cat was stretched out lazily in front of the fire, napping.

"Thanks, Severus. I'm going back to the dorms to see if Draco's there and ask if he could go with me to Hogsmeade tomorrow," Harry paused by the doorway and looked back, "Oh, and by the way, I'm still not happy about that wife comment yesterday."

"Anytime, Harry, anytime." With a final nod at the smirking git, Harry left the office and turned to the staircase. Sayre licked his chin once before settling down in seeming comfort in his arms.

Harry rubbed the cat's tense stomach, wondering idly what had gotten into him. Sayre was usually much more enthusiastic in the afternoon, especially after lunch. Maybe Snape-or should he call him Severus now?-had put some calming potion in the cats food. He shrugged and put it out of his mind, he had other things to worry about as he climbed the circular stairs.

Like why he was being attacked by Nott and Boot in front of the door that lead to their rooms, their arms gripping his thin frame easily as he dropped the silver cat on the floor, watching it dart up the stairs to the second floor dorms, and the rooms that they shared with Draco.

"Get Draco, Sayre!" And than all he could see was a bit of the landing as he was pulled into the darkened room behind them and the door was kicked carelessly ajar behind Nott.

_Idiots._

HGHG

Hermione sighed softly to herself as she calmly followed Blaise into the seventh year Ravenclaw dorm rooms. Really now, Harry and Draco should have seen the attraction between them years ago. It would have solved the majority of their problems and it might have made Ron a bit more willing to accept Pansy now. Merlin, she, out of all of them, had the most reason to not want to forgive them, after all the torment that they had put her through for all those years, calling her mudblood and such. Merlin, she should be the one to spit in their face and tell them to bugger off.

But that wasn't what was happening in the slightest. Ron wasn't pushing the Slytherins away like Harry and herself had thought and feared that he would do. No, instead he had held Pansy as she trembled from unwanted memories and it had been him who had dared Blaise to hold her in his lap. Maybe this whole reSorting had taught him something about appearances. Perhaps that had always been there and they had underestimated their friend.

She could only hope, though. It was enough for now that Harry had finally admitted to himself, and apparently Snape and her, that he loved Draco, even if he avoided the use of the term. She would be happier if it had not contributed to his alcoholism, and she knew the moment that she looked the other way for five minutes, he would start back without hesitation. Hopefully nothing would draw her away until Harry either got more support from either Snape, whom it seemed was already helping him, or Draco. The only thing that could take her from Hogwarts and her boys right now would be a complication in her mother's pregnancy, and Hermione didn't see that happening anytime soon.

"Something on your mind?" Hermione looked up, surprised to see that she was seated on a couch in their common room, the fire crackling merrily not far to her right on the other side of Blaise, her thigh was pressed close enough to his that she felt the tingles speed down her spine. Shaking her head slightly, she pushed it away, but didn't move, enjoying the warmth that came to her from her crush of a year.

"I'm worried about Harry and Draco." She sighed and leaned into the heat.

"I wouldn't be. They'll be fine. They'll probably shag like bunnies tonight, but they'll be fine." Blaise waved a hand flippantly and Hermione shot him a mild glare.

"If I know anything about Harry, and trust me when I say I do, he might try to avoid it, no matter how much he loves Draco." At this Blaise stilled and Hermione could have slapped herself, it was too late now to try to take back her words.

"Potter loves Draco?" His voice wasn't disgusted or alarmed, only amused, so Hermione took a chance and nodded slowly, looking into his blazing black eyes.

"More than anything else, actually. I'm surprised you haven't noticed by now."

"I noticed, I just thought that it was a crush. After last year, when Draco didn't say much to him, I thought it was just that, a simple crush." Blaise leaned back, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"It's been going on since fifth year, as far as I can tell." Hermione sighed again and pulled one of her legs securely against her chest.

"Draco was a prick to him in fifth year, over the whole Umbridge shit."

"No one has ever claimed that Harry was ever normal. Maybe that started it. Maybe he noticed how Draco looked when he was smirking maliciously and that started it. Who knows." Hermione nearly jumped when Blaise pulled her against his side firmly, but she calmed down quickly.

"Well, whatever did it, I couldn't be happier for them. You saw how they kissed." Blaise grinned at her and she found her face flaring up with heat.

"Yes, it was awesome. It was obvious that Harry lusts after Draco and vice versa. I'm just worried that Draco doesn't like Harry as much." Hermione frowned and leaned against him comfortably, tucking her legs up under her as she did so. Now she knew why Harry liked to sit with his legs under him, it was actually very comfortable.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Draco has always been a little possessive of Potter, although it came out as a need to be his only rival," Here he grinned down at her and chuckled. Hermione answered his grin hesitantly, "He once made a mention that the Dark Lord had better appreciate the attention that he got from Potter. It was during the Christmas hols in fifth year." They both chuckled, although it was more of a giggle from Hermione.

"That doesn't surprise me." She grinned at him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"You should have seen Draco during the TriWizard tournament. He glared at everyone who praised Potter. It was even more amusing when your friend almost got himself killed saving that little girl out in the lake." Hermione giggled again and nestled closer to his side.

"Harry's always had a hero complex. Fortunately, that's died down a bit in the last couple of years, with no one for him to save."

"Lucky us." Blaise said dryly and Hermione only hummed quietly as she closed her eyes.

"I'm just worried that Harry will stop trying to make Draco love him if only for his hero complex. Harry would be afraid that he's making Draco feel something that isn't there to begin with."

"We'll just have to make sure that it doesn't happen like that, now don't we?"

"Yes, but how. Harry may have Slytherin tendencies, but that doesn't mean he'll be willing to take a step to get what he wants if he thinks he might be controlling someone else." She sighed again and Blaise tightened his grip on her slightly. She grinned to herself. Maybe she should try some manipulation of her own.

"We could lock them in a room."

"I don't think that's really necessary." She turned her head so that her breath brushed his collarbone lightly and she grinned some more when he swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing reflexively.

"Than what do you propose?" Yes, there was a definite hitch in his voice now.

"We could always just make comments that they can't ignore." She said lazily, letting her lips touch his neck as she moved her head. He pulled back and lifted her face so that their eyes could meet.

"You are being very Slytherin, my dear." Hermione just smiled at him, loving the way that his eyes followed the movements of her lips.

Yes, she should definitely try some manipulations of her own more often.

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

4445 words, and almost nine full pages. Not a bad job if I say so myself. Plus, writing Hermione's perspective was fun.

Since no one sent in names last chapter, I'm going to list the definitions of some the characters.

Blaise(French)- Audacious

Severus/Sevrin/(Latin)- Strict, restrained, the name of a saint.

Ron/'Ronald/(English)- Kind

To TheLastCrumpet and quiditch beater, I do plan on slowing it down, now that I am introducing more elements into the story itself.

To Mizu1411, if Harry didn't have the orange potion, his relief, he would fall back on drinking.

To everyone else, thank you so much for reviewing. The more reviews I get, the faster I try to update.

Until next time,

Midnight Out.


	7. Not a Normal Year

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but Sayre is mine.

Note: Graphic scene at the end of the end of the chapter. If you don't want to read it, just skip after the second scene break. There's a reason I made this M.

**Goal:** 3,500 words or six pages.

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Seven**

**Not a Normal Year**

Harry struggled against their grasp and tried to jab one of them with his elbow in an instinctive move. It worked and Harry slid away from that weak side, reaching for his wand. Unfortunately, Nott recovered quickly and latched onto his arm again as they pulled him inexorably backwards. Harry caught sight of a chair standing alone in the middle of the room and he began to fight harder. He felt his elbow catch Boot in the jaw and the other boy stumbled away as Harry pulled forward again, this time he was able to grab his wand and turn back to them and nearly dropped it as he finally was able to look at them.

There was little light seeping into the room from the landing but Harry still did not like what he saw in the slightest. Both of their features were slack and their movements towards him consisted of trembling limbs and shuffling movements. Coupled with their glassy eyes, it was like something from a poorly made zombie film.

A shadow fell across the landing and headed up to Harry's room, momentarily blocking the light.

"They're under _Imperious_." Harry muttered as the light reappeared and their eyes flickered slightly in recognition.

They were under the mind controlling Unforgivable, yes, but they were fighting it. Successfully at that, otherwise they would have used wands on him, unless they had been told not to.

_And Merlin was the king._

This time Harry cursed loudly and dropped his wand as one of them grabbed him. He'd have to do this the muggle way if he wanted to even think about possibly not hurting them. Alright, he could have used his wand and not even had to touch them, but hitting them in the face was _much_ more satisfactory at this point of time.

Harry grinned at Boot as the Ravenclaw-Slytherin stumbled back, "That was for attempting to poison Draco last year." He snarled and turned on Nott, who imitated Harry's move and punched him in the eye. Harry fell and landed with a harsh gasp on his rear end. Boot kicked him in the ribs and Harry rolled over so his foot missed, for the most part.

With a slight grunt of exertion, Harry was able to kick Nott in the kneecap and he watched as he came down. He was about to repeat the procedure with Boot when he felt warm blood slide down his arm. Boot's wand was in his hand and Harry only paused for a second before he lashed out and kicked him in the leg, reaching for his wand. He had barely even touched it when his two attackers both stood up with their wands in their hands and Harry could tell that they had lost the battle against the spell when their movements became smooth and unhindered, although their eyes remained blank and faces slack and expressionless. One of them summoned his wand while the other cast another nonverbal spell that cut the flesh right above his left eye.

_Dammit! I should have used my wand to begin with!_

He could hear them start to intone a spell, most likely something painful and/or lethal. Merlin, what a way to go. At least the bruises on his ribs and the cut on his face would hopefully tell people that his death was _not_ accidental. Perhaps someone might be able to tell that he had fought, and fought hard.

"_Confri_-"

"_Expelliarmus_!" Harry nearly snapped his neck when someone shouted the spell. He thought it was his imagination, but no, there was Draco standing in the doorway with his wand raised, eyes hard as granite as he stared down at those who were beneath him, namely Nott and Boot who were reaching for Harry again, not even seeming to realize that there was someone else in the room taking the offensive against them.

"They're under _Imperious_." He shouted at the blond as he scrambled to his feet and put Boot in a headlock, imposing him between himself and Nott as the full Slytherin lunged for him. Harry released his hold and the two fell in a tangle of limbs.

Draco shot off two red stunners and they fell still. Harry nodded at him and stumbled over to his wand, his headache decreasing slightly as his magic found its outlet.

"What happened here?" Draco's voice was harsh and Harry looked at him numbly as he levitated the two and put them in their beds, wiping the blood from his eye as he did so.

"I could ask these two the same thing." He snarled a little as limped toward the door. He must have sprained his ankle at some point in time, although it hurt too much to be a simple fracture.

_Wonderful._

"Your cat was trying to scratch a hole through our door. Then he wouldn't stop pawing at me until I followed him down here. And what happened to your eye?" The Slytherin growled and dusted off his dark blue shirt and stepped out of Harry's way.

"Don't know. They used a nonverbal spell." Harry leaned against the door frame and took a deep breath, trying to stop the dizzy spell that had overcome him and almost overpowered the sudden nausea.

The potion wasn't working as well anymore.

"We need to get you to Severus."

_Was that concern?_

"No thank you, I don't need to see the greasy git." Harry snarled over his shoulder and took a step forward, almost falling in the process. Draco caught him easily and picked him up bridal style.

"Yes, you do. No arguing." Draco's lips thinned as he started down the steps. Harry quickly wrapped his arms around his neck.

"You're going to get blood on your shirt." Harry pointed out helpfully as he glared at the pale, smooth neck within licking distance.

"And you can't walk," The blond sighed and softened his voice, "A cleaning spell will take care of the blood, don't worry."

The glare turned into a pout which turned into a strangled moan as another dizzy spell hit, stronger than before. Harry closed his eyes and laid his head on Draco's shoulder as he took deep, even breaths in an attempt to still the trembling that had overtaken his whole body. He heard Draco knocking on Snape's door with loud clarity. Harry held back a whimper as the door opened almost soundlessly less than a minute later.

"What happened?" Snape asked harshly and Harry tightened his arms so that he could cover his ears with his hands.

This was _not_ his day.

DMHP

Draco barely held back a glare at his godfather. Harry had whimpered only a second ago and his arms had tightened to almost painful proportions. Draco wasn't complaining though, although Harry could gain some weight. He was much too thin as it was right now.

"He was attacked by Nott and Boot." He stated harshly and stepped into the room, brushing past his godfather like it was nothing. It wasn't, they were both just about the same height.

"Put him on the couch." It was the only thing that he offered in reply and Draco did as he had been told, for the most part. He sat down on the couch instead, reluctant to put down Harry for some reason.

"He's holding on to my neck, Sev, I can't let go." He offered as an excuse when the potions master raised an eyebrow.

"He was attacked by Nott and Boot?" Severus opened up his potions cabinet in the corner, not commenting at all.

"Yes. Harry said that they were under the _Imperious_ curse." Severus paused at this and another moan came from Harry when a glass vial shattered on the floor. Draco wrapped his arms securely around his waist, tenderly rubbing his back.

"Why were you carrying him?" Severus' voice was strained as he came to kneel in front of them, placing the potions on the floor.

"The bloody idiot couldn't walk." Draco gestured at the swollen and already bruising left ankle. He blinked rapidly in shock when Severus gently pried off the shoe and sock, conjuring up an icepack to rest on the limb. He didn't say anything though, instead he waited patiently as the older man gently prodded at the wound on Harry's right arm. It still bled freely and Draco grimaced as a quite a bit dropped on his clothes, unsettling his stomach.

"That still doesn't tell me why you are carrying him." Severus broke into his line of thought and Draco only shrugged, mindful of Harry as he did so.

"He was intent on ignoring his injuries and heading to our rooms. While blood can easily be removed from clothes, it is not so easily done on rugs and carpeting." That drew a small chuckle from Harry and a shiver sped down Draco's spine as warm air gusted over his neck and collarbone. He tightened his grip convulsively, one hand gently started to rub Harry's hip, thumb ghosting under the clothe easily. Severus didn't see, or so Draco hoped, and he spoke quietly to Harry.

"Harry, you need to take some potions. Your ankle is fractured and your arm is cut down to the bone. The blood loss has made you dizzy and nauseous." Draco frowned at Severus. What made him talk so gently to the son of the man who had tormented him in school, even if his voice was still cold and harsh?

"Fuck you, Severus. Give them here." Draco's jaw dropped, Malfoy pride be damned, as he looked at the small smile on his godfather's face as Harry told him off. He barely noticed Harry moving his arm to accept the potions until Harry moved his head to take them. First was the blue blood replenishing potion. Next was a mild version of the skelegrow, all it would do would be to speed up the healing process of his ankle. Healing it outright was something that Draco knew his godfather did not prefer to do, no matter the circumstances.

"It's good to know that you are not having any problems in your mental capacity."

"Same to you, snarky git." Harry rebuffed and took a third potion, a pink pain reliever, burying his head in Draco's shoulder again, but leaving his arm free for Severus to take and heal. At a muttered word an off white beam headed into Harry's arm and started to knit the flesh. Severus nodded and moved to an armchair nearby.

"Would you boys like something to drink?" He asked as he snapped his fingers to summon a house elf, muttering in its ear for a minute.

"Pumpkin juice, Sev." Draco snapped out, his thumb still rubbed Harry's hip, although it had dug in slightly. He heard Harry's almost inaudible gasp and the almost undetectable arch in his back.

"Hot chocolate." The raven's voice was strained slightly and Draco was hard pressed not to smirk outright at the mildly breathy quality of it.

"Has the pain potion not taken effect yet? The usual." The house elf popped out of existence and Severus frowned at them.

"Yes. It was my ankle throbbing past that." Draco silently applauded Harry's quick lie and dug his thumb in again, gripping him a little closer in the process.

"Yes, that is natural. Let me know if the pain becomes too much." Harry only nodded and Draco saw as the potions master leaned back into his seat comfortably as he took the mug of tea from the house elf.

Harry reached out to take his cup and Draco knew that he would have moved if he hadn't tightened his hold and dug his thumb in a third time. Harry acquiesced and leaned back against the arm of the couch, sipping the drink with his free arm, keeping the healing arm stationary and stretching out his leg as he did so. Draco didn't bother hiding his smirk as he sipped from his drink. He caught Severus' contemplative stare and raised an eyebrow.

His godfather had no place judging who he chose, seeing how he dated men on and off as it was. And as it was looking right now, he had definitely chosen Harry.

His day couldn't get any better.

DMHP

Harry blushed into his hot chocolate. Draco had yet to let him go and even now was stroked his hip as if he owned it. Merlin, if it was up to Harry alone, Draco could definitely own it.

"What exactly happened, Harry?" He looked at Snape, slowly raising an eyebrow at him as he used his elbow to gently nudge Draco's hand, trying to tell him to stop so he could talk. Draco seemed to understand, for he stopped, but left his hand and thumb where they were.

"Nott and Boot dragged me into the room and attacked me." He answered simply, not really wanting to mention the rest of it.

"How do you know it was the _Imperious_ that they were under?" Black eyes gleamed in satisfaction and Harry knew he was proud. He only rolled his eyes before answering.

"Their eyes were glazed. They would have also taunted about getting the best of me," He paused and took a sip to fill the suddenly tense silence, "They also would have used their wands, would have made it easier. They were fighting it at first and I had the upper hand until they lost the fight."

"They were about to cast the Blasting Curse when I came in." Draco's voice came in right than and Harry sighed as the attention was taken off of him.

"How did you know that Harry was under attack?" The question was shot off and Harry grinned as Draco tensed.

"His cat was trying to scratch a hole through the door. That's how I knew." Draco sneered and Harry grinned when he heard the smile in the others voice. Snape's eyes shot to Sayre, who was playing with a quill that had fallen to the floor. Harry grinned at the expression on his face.

"Your cat is intelligent, Potter. And completely loyal."

Harry's grin became a bit broader as he looked at him, "He's saved my life once already."

"He did?" This time it was Draco and Harry nodded at the blond.

"Maybe I'll tell you the story sometime." He waved a hand flippantly and put down his empty cup on the coffee table, Draco did the same.

It did not occur to Harry once to question why Draco was holding him and rubbing his hip, which he had started doing again the first chance that he could. It didn't cross his mind to find some reason why the blond was doing it and even enjoying himself, which Harry knew by the thing that was pressing up against his leg. He didn't even think that the way to get Draco would be through his hormones, like Hermione had said it would be. He just enjoyed the warmth and intimacy that had sprung up between them, engraving it in his mind in case it never happened again.

Harry watched as Snape stood up and stepped forward, kneeling by his ankle, taking off the icepack and gently poking it. Harry winced every time and sighed gratefully when he was done. Snape than summoned some bandages from his cabinet and wrapped it tightly, shrinking his shoe and and handing them to Harry, who put them in his pocket.

"I will speak to McGonagall about having your friends over to your dorms everyday after breakfast until dinner until Harry can walk normally again. I refuse to try to knit bones and Madam Pomfrey is not allowed over here unless it is life threatening. As it stands, the potion will increase the rate of healing to almost three times the normal speed. That means no walking on it for three weeks. Draco can carry you if you need to go anywhere." Harry nodded at Snape's words.

"Alright."

Draco picked him up again, carrying him out of the room and up the stairs, Harry didn't comment, just hung onto the taller teen, burying his head into the others shoulder again.

"Why are you and Severus so familiar with each other?" Draco's smooth voice asked Harry as he sat the boy on a stool in the kitchen, Sayre jumping onto his lap. Harry toed off his other shoe and sock, petting his cat as he did so. The wound on his arm was fully healed by now and Draco handed him a rag for the remaining blood.

"That is another story for another time."

Draco glared and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Something happened at the end of last school year. I ended up telling him things that I would prefer he never find out, but he found them out anyway," He shrugged and smiled when the other teen handed him a mug of hot chocolate, "Thanks."

"Whatever." Draco pulled out some meat and cheese and made a quick sandwich before putting it on the bar next to Harry, sitting down next to him.

"Only a sandwich?" He grinned at the blond before summoning Sayre's toy ball and throwing it across the room in a loud jingle that the cat chased after without hesitation.

"Blood makes me nauseas." Draco answered simply and took a bite out of his food. Harry stared at him, scrubbing his arm to get rid of the blood there.

"Thank you." He said simply, moving his gaze somewhere else suddenly.

"For?" Draco's voice was softer this time.

"For saving me. If you didn't show up, I would be dead. And I'm sorry, too."

"What are you sorry for?"

"For making you carry me and getting blood on your clothes." Harry's voice grew softer and he tossed the bloody rag into the sink. Draco chuckled and leaned forward, grabbing Harry's chin and tilting his head upwards.

"I'll forgive you for getting me bloody, on one condition." Draco smirked when Harry's eyes widened and Harry knew that Draco was following every movement of his tongue as it wet his lips.

"What is it?" He winced at the breathy quality of his voice. Draco's smirk grew.

"A kiss for saving you." And without further ado, he leaned down and nipped Harry's bottom lip. Harry gasped and the blond pushed his tongue into his mouth before sealing their lips together.

Harry groaned in the back of this throat as Draco's tongue pushed his into action. He wrapped his arms around Draco's back and shoulders as the kiss became passionate. His eyes slid shut as arms wrapped around his waist, tugging him into the blond's lap while being mindful of his ankle. Something hard pressed against his groin and he moaned into Draco's mouth as the blond thrust his hips and brushed their cocks together.

No inhibitions stood in his mind right then, once again all he could feel was the warmth of the air around them and the heat from Draco's body. The blond removed his shirt and latched his mouth onto Harry's neck, hands wandering his back and sides. Harry arched his back and buried his hands into the silky smooth blond hair, throwing back his head back and groaning loudly as Draco thrust his hips again, harder this time.

As much as he wanted to go on with this, something in the back of his mind niggled at him that he should make some sort of protest. Draco should have some choice other than he was here and available. Harry almost pulled away right than and there, but everything else screamed at him not to move, his own body betrayed him in the most pleasurable ways when he rolled his hips down into Draco's thrust.

"Your-..your sand...sandwich." Harry moaned even louder when Draco gripped his waist and pushed their cocks together forcefully.

"Your cat can eat it. Right now, I want to eat you." Draco nipped on his earlobe and stood up, Harry wrapped his legs around him as he walked across the room and set Harry down on his bed. The taller male straightened up and tossed his shirt across the room, before laying back down on Harry, this time concentrating on his chest.

Harry had given his token protest. Now all he wanted to do was enjoy Draco's lips as they moved down his torso, hands playing with his nipples as he gasped and writhed. Harry's legs cradled Draco's hips as the blond's lithe fingers started to work on the button and the zipper.

Shocks sped through Harry's body as the blond's skilled fingers touched his skin. He felt as if he was could nine as the soft emerald sheets held his body and held him. Harry moaned and arched his back as Draco pulled off his pants and boxers and gripped his cock, pumping it slowly as he raised himself up to whisper in Harry's ear.

"You are so fucking hot, Harry. You have no idea how hard I want to pound into you right now, to make you scream my name as you come from the best orgasm of your life." A keening wail escaped from between Harry's lips at the words. He arched his back some more and flexed his fingers on the sheets.

"Than why don't you?" He said in a husky voice, moving his head to look Draco in the eyes.

Gray iris' widened before he cast a lubrication charm on his fingers and slowly slid one into Harry. Now, Harry was by no means a virgin. His need for alcohol had driven him to do plenty of things that he never wanted to admit to another person for the rest of his life, but Draco's fingers made any thoughts of previous sexual encounters disappear into a haze as a second digit slid into him and stroked him. He was in paradise and when the third finger brushed his prostate lightning spiked through his body.

The whole time Draco moved his fingers in him, he whispered in Harry's ear, adding to the stimulation. Finally, those three perfect fingers left him and Harry whimpered at the loss, but than he felt something larger at his entrance, pushing slowly inward.

And he was in heaven.

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

3,703 words, and a little over seven full pages. Awesome! And I'm sorry if the end is crappy. I don't usually write stuff this graphic, and it doesn't help that I'm getting tired and my fingers are getting tired.

Now, I'm setting up a poll in my profile about Mpreg and this story, I need to have that decided on before the next chapter is written, because it will change a lot of the interactions. A lot of the plot depends on it too, actually.

Here's the names sent in.

From Love2Love, Maryon- English for Bitter

From TheLastCrumpet, Olivia- English Flourishing

Thalia- Greek for Joyful; fun

Charlotte- French for Little woman

Andrew- Greek for Manly and brave

From Anwynd, Kyle- Irish for Serene

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'll reread this when I get a chance and edit it, maybe rewrite the end.

Midnight Out.


	8. The Games We Play

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe, but Sayre is my own creation.

Polling is Closed, 12:45 AM Central Time Zone Friday July 18th.

The results of the polling are:

**Yes: **64 percent

**No: **19 percent

**Your Choice: **16 percent

After taking everything my reviewers said, the poll that people voted in, and my personal decision into account, I will be including Mpreg as a part of this story. If you do not wish to read it because of that, do not bother reviewing with negative criticism for they will not be stored like all my other ones in a proper folder in my inbox, they will be summarily deleted and I will not reply to them. They will simply become wasted time on both of our parts, yours when you write it and mine when I read and delete it. Thank you.

Note: This will start out in Snape's POV and their won't be much actual dialog until Harry's POV, which is last.

**Goal: **3,000 words or 5 pages

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Eight**

**The Games We Play**

Severus Snape twirled the stem of the wineglass gently between his fingers as the flames crackled contently in front of him and a potions vial sat docilely on the coffee table beside him.

He had done things in his life that simple should not be done, no matter who or what you were. Playing as spy for the light and Voldemort's right hand man was one of them. Another thing was fall for the woman who was destined to be with someone else. Those were not the only things of course, there were plenty of other things that would put him in Azkaban or house arrest at least if anyone knew about them.

Fortunately, no one knew about them. No one save his mind. On nights like this, when he had done one of those things, Severus would sit in front of the fire and replay every single one in his minds eye. It usually took hours of patient contemplation before he reached the end of his evening and the time came to bury them all in the back in a corner of his mind where they should remain until the day he died and a pensieve of his memories was given to the person of his choice, as was stated in the will that he had drawn up when he was only eighteen, and knew that his own mortality was not something that he should dwell over.

That person had been Lily Evans, turned Lily Potter, until she died to save her son. He had wanted her to see that he had always been protecting her, even when she didn't know about it, or think it necessary.

In their sixth year someone had tried to attack her when her back was turned, Severus, outcast of his House though he was, had stopped the jealous teen. That had been when _Sectumsempra_ had been perfected and first used.

At first, when the blood had been freshly spilled and flowing, he had vowed to never do anything to hurt anyone ever again. Then Tom Riddle had risen in power and Severus, although he had wished to never succumb to rage and use violence, had been drawn to his power like a moth to a crude flame.

In short, he got burned. Lord Voldemort had used the petty anger that Severus was prone to his advantage and made him into a killing machine that was ultimately responsible for the death of the only one that he had truly felt any emotion for. He was the one that had brought the accursed prophecy to Voldemort's ears.

Nothing could amount to the torture that he put himself through to atone for that. Severus was still trying to make up for being the cause of Lily and James Potter's death. For making Harry an orphan and forcing him to live with his relatives.

That was only one in a long and never ending list of mistakes and sins that he had been the perpetrator of. Many had been tortured under his wand during the war. Multitudes were orphans like Harry, clinically insane like Alice and Frank Longbottom, crippled like Mad-Eye Moony should be, or dead because of his cowardice and subsequent stupidity.

It was because of his indirect interference that Sirius had been jailed, although no one knew that he had sent a letter of warning to Lily concerning the Dark Lord's intentions, and Pettigrew hiding in his animagus form for thirteen years. If Severus had only known that they would choose that rat to be their secret keeper over the werewolf. That was the greatest sin though, in his eyes at least, and the only one not listed with the others of greed, envy, lust, wrath, sloth, gluttony, and pride. It was the sin of ignorance, of not knowing something when it was within your grasp to learn it. But, like with all things in life that required a balance, there were some things that he felt no remorse for.

He did not regret becoming a spy for Dumbledore, that was something that no one could make him feel any remorse for, nor did he rethink his decision to be Draco's godfather, even when he was acting like a stupid prat and forgetting who was in the room when seducing Harry Potter.

Of course, some of that was his own fault. The proof of that lay in the remnants of a dark red potion, known by some as the _luxuria_ _venenum_, by others as the Lust Potion. Unlike the name implied, it did not produce any sexual feeling that did not exist, it brought them to the forefront of the drinker's mind and made them almost unable to ignore it. Of course, those with a strong will, what Severus called a nonsensical sense of sacrifice, could overcome it. Chances were that Harry would be able to repress the need, for a short time at least.

Draco could not, not when combined with the subtle spell that he had cast that would make him more willing to go after what he desired. He had been raised as a Malfoy and no Malfoy, when they decided they wanted something that is, would be able to resist the pull that the potion uncovered. Of course, like any other member of his family, he would be enraged to learn that he had been tricked into something. Harry as well, for that was the spirit of freedom that his Lily Evans embodied and his James Potter tamed.

They were the ones who would receive his memories when he died, which was in the unforeseeable future at this point in time. Severus could only hope that when it came to that, when they had finally realized the extent of his interference in their lives, they would be able to forgive him for everything that he had done in his lifetime, for the games that he had played with not only their lives but in the lives of their parents.

It was thanks to these games that he had remained sane and safe. That those two were now with each other and not at each other's throats. It was thanks to this deadly game of chess that ultimately saved not only his life, but the lives of many others.

That was the reason for his repentance and the reason for his loneliness.

Standing up, he buried the memories back where they rightfully belonged, under layers of dirt and ice, and went to bed.

DMHP

Draco sat on a barstool in the kitchenette, mug of hot tea in his hands and clad only in his boxers as he stared pensively at the marble top, trying to put everything into some sort of order that he could understand. So far he wasn't having much luck.

Sayre stared at him, sitting placidly only a few short inches from him on the bar top, tail lashing side to side impatiently, silvery-gold eyes flashing in the faint light of just a few candles. Harry had said that this cat had saved his life, what had he meant by that? Had Sayre pulled him from in front of a herd of stampeding hippogriffs? Draco snorted in disbelief and the cat seemed to raise an eyebrow at him.

"What? I don't think you really saved Harry's life." A smirk seemed to slowly build on the cat's face, it licked it's paw and Draco frowned at the nonchalant gesture from the feline.

"You're a cat. You don't have thoughts of your own, despite the fact that you saved Harry's life, possibly twice."

Sayre slowly raised a paw and batted at Draco's nose. Draco glared at him, moving the chair a foot back as he did so. His father had done that to him when he was a child and refused to admit to the obvious, just a slight tap to signify that Lucius was displeased.

"You are a cat." He stated more firmly and the cat let out an amused sound. Draco glowered.

His father had been missing since after his fifth year and Harry had killed the Dark Lord for good. Draco didn't know how the Dark Lord had been defeated and he hadn't really cared. Well, he hadn't cared until he decided that he wanted Harry and no one else, which had only been a few hours ago, seeing as the sun had long since set.

Another smirk spread across Sayre's face and Draco was reminded of his father again. Lucius Malfoy's smirks always signified some sort of hidden knowledge, there were no other need for them in his mind. Draco sneered and picked up the ball that Harry had thrown earlier and sent it flying across the room with a sneer.

His father was missing, most likely lost in the Department of Mysteries or being used for experimentation by the Unspeakables. There was no reason for him or his mother to think otherwise. It was thanks to his father's disappearance that he had changed at all and had become the type of person who ultimately preferred to support his friends than to chase after them needlessly.

Even if they chose idiots like Pansy had.

Seriously, what did she see in the Gryffindor? He had always hated anything to do with Slytherin and Pansy was an integral part of the core of their House's Year, even if she currently resided in the House of the Lions.

Draco smirked as the cat batted his ball against the wall again, before running off to chase it across the room. It was just a cat, intelligent for it's breed, yes, but a Kneazle could do more better. Granger's half breed could do twice as much with as little thought. It was not some person hiding in their animagus form, much less someone with the mannerisms of his father.

Draco snorted to himself again and refilled his mug with a tap of his wand. How did muggles survive without magic to help them? It was a mystery to him.

As if that particular thought disturbed his slumber, Harry rolled over in the emerald satin sheets with a contented sigh, curling into a ball on his side before falling back into peaceful rest.

There had been rumors, that before he had destroyed the Dark Lord he had been plagued by nightmarish visions from the link that they shared in his now almost inconspicuous scar. Several times in the past two days he had noticed that Harry would sometimes unconsciously move his hair to hide the blemish on his forehead. Draco didn't know what prompted him to do this, but he was going to find out. Subtle questions was a Slytherin's forte, after all. Direct questions would only push Harry further away and now that he had him in his bed he was not going to let him go easily.

The only partner that he had not kept because of his possessive nature had been Terry Boot. The Ravenclaw-Slytherin had been too ambitious and cruel for even Draco, who in the year since fifth year had learned the value of others, or at least what he could make them do for him without them ever knowing. Boot had been the obsessive one, the one who had tried to chain Draco to him. To be honest, Draco was surprised that there had not been more than one attempt on his life because of Boot's jealousy.

There had been a rumor that Harry had stopped him. Of course, this was not from either Harry or Boot, but from a house elf in the kitchens. They, as an inherent disability, could not lie unless they had been ordered to, and this one was originally a Malfoy house elf, so he had seen it as his duty to inform Draco of the attempt and who he thought to be behind stopping Boot.

Now that Draco thought about it, the few times someone had tried to harm him, they had been stopped. Anytime someone raised their wand at him in a crowded corridor, there would be a blue _protego_ rebounding the spell.

Had it been Harry all those times as well? And what was with the familiarity that had sprung up between him and Severus? None of it made sense to him. They had both said that it was a story for another time. Well, Draco was going to make sure that he was there for that other time.

You see, it wasn't often that Draco Malfoy felt protective over someone. For years it had only been Pansy, Blaise, and him. Sure, there had been people that they had dated, but while Draco felt obsessive over who ever he dated, he rarely ever felt protective. That was reserved for his friends.

And somehow Harry had made himself a part of that very small group and Draco did not plan on letting him go anytime soon.

With a smirk, he turned to the other teen, who was sitting up quickly with a slightly panicked look on his face.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty."

He had some to begin the games to insure that this was not just a one night stand to be forgotten.

DMHP

Harry woke slowly, the satin sheets cradling his body and left ankle tenderly as he turned over. He could hear the sound of the bell in Sayre's ball as he bounced it against the wall. That was odd, Sayre usually didn't play with his ball unless someone threw it for him. That cat was too dignified for even a Malfoy.

He sighed peacefully. The withdrawal symptoms weren't bothering him yet, although he could live without the pain in his lower back.

_Wait..._

_Pain?_

_Oh shit._

Harry sat up, panic spreading through his mind. Everything was ruined. Everything he knew about Draco told him that he would get tired of Harry before Harry could make Draco love him.

He really needed a nice, stiff drink before he faced the blond again.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." The amused voice reached his ears and Harry whipped his head around, making himself dizzy again in the process, and met silvery gray eyes that shone with mirth and the light of only a few candles.

"D-Draco." Harry stuttered and Sayre raced across the room to jump into his lap and get his attention. Harry willingly pet him, doing anything but look at Draco.

"How did you sleep?" The sounds of someone walking across the room invaded the silence, but Harry didn't look up from the silvery-gray fur.

"Fine. What about you?" His voice was only hoarse this time and he took the glass that was offered him, sipping it slowly.

"I slept wonderfully." Fingers trailed against his jawline and and came to rest on the nape of his neck. Harry shivered and moved away, trying to put some distance between them.

"That's nice. I have to...go to the loo." He looked around for his wand and Draco handed it to him tenderly. Harry hurriedly conjured some crutches and limped across the room, shutting the door behind him without a sound and he leaned against it, hyperventilating as his eyes darted around the room. He needed something, anything that would take away the panic. In a moment of inspiration he opened the door to their medicine cabinet.

The dreamless sleep sat inches in front of his nose. That wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to go to sleep, he wanted to forget things. To forget what had happened, to do things without worrying about the consequences, he should never have slept with Draco this early into the year.

He paused, setting a pink vial onto the sink as things connected in his mind with an audible click.

Now that he thought about it, his hot chocolate had been a bit off, but he just chalked it up to house elves not making it on a regular basis, but they made it during winter lunches, on the colder days. It always tasted delicious, so what had been wrong this time? It was like something had been left out on purpose...

...or added to it before he drank it.

He slammed the cabinet door shut, ignoring Draco's slightly worried shout.

That was why he hadn't put up more than a token protest. Snape had the house elf put something in the drinks. Snape probably took the antidote and even now was having a grand laugh about it in his rooms.

That didn't seem right, though. Sure, Snape was a greasy git, but he had the interests of his godson in mind. Would he purposely give Draco something that would hurt him? Or make him do something he didn't want to do? That fit more into what he knew about the Potions Master and how he would act, considering he was trying to get them together.

Taking a calming breath he sat down on the toilet seat. He didn't know this for sure and he wasn't going to alienate the only person who was on his side right now. That wouldn't stop him from writing a scathing letter though.

The situation with Draco wasn't hopeless either. Draco hadn't gotten bored yet, so he would pull back, make the blond Adonis chase after him and work for the slightest bit of affection. If there was one thing that he knew about Malfoy's, it was that they hated being denied what they wanted. Harry would deny Draco of anything and everything until he was ready to beg for just a simple smile.

Harry couldn't go overboard though, he had to be subtle, he had to be otherwise occupied. Draco couldn't know that it was all very much on purpose. How was he going to do that when he could hardly walk? He blinked and grinned.

The attack, his friends. They could act as buffers. He still had to find out who put Nott and Boot under an Unforgivable, that would take time and effort. Plus their friends would be over every day, Harry still had to make sure that they got together. Hermione and Blaise wouldn't be nearly as troublesome as Ron and Pansy were going to be.

Nodding resolutely, he put the pink vial back into the cabinet before heading into the other room to change and go to bed, all the while ignoring Draco's eyes on him.

Let the games begin.

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

3,063 words and six and a half pages. It would probably be more if I had the patience to edit it right now.

From Robin the Bird- Zoe- Greek for life

From TheLastCrumpet- Marlene- **German, English:** Blend of Maria and Magdalene referring to Mary Magdalene of the Bible

Darcy-**Irish:** Dark

From passion and love- Alanna-**Gaelic:** Bright

From fire faraie25- Aakriti- Indian: Shape

From cardfreak- Lindsey- (English)Various spelling of Lindsay which is **English, Scottish:** Island of linden trees

From Atomic Shadow Kitten- Abha- Most beautiful and full of intelligence

From TLDriver66- Tammy Lynn- Palm Tree Cascade

Until next time!

Midnight Out!


	9. The Second Square

Disclaimer: No, I do not own them.

Note: Sooo sorry about the megaly late update. I got behind on PDM and my computer decide to go all screwy. Also, I was sorting out my thoughts and the plot in my head for this and realized how much I was skipping over and leaving as loose ends. Some is meant to be like that, but not all of it. I need to reread the whole thing and make a list of the ones I need to go over, however briefly. If you spotted any loose ends yourselves, please let me know, that way I can put them on the list. Thanks.

Note2: I wanted to do Hermione's POV again so much so it's at the end of this chapter.

**Goal:** 3,000 words or five pages

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Nine**

**The Second Square**

"You were _what_?!"

"Do you actually want me to answer that, Hermione?"

"It was a rhetorical question, Harry."

"Draco, I know this."

"Nott and Bott attacked you while they were under _Imperio_."

"Yup, that's the gist of it."

"And you didn't think to let any of your friends know until now?"

"Not really, no. I came in and fell asleep. Had some very nice dreams, thanks for asking."

"Harry James Potter! Put that sandwich down and be serious!"

"Awesome crutches, mate! Can I sign them?"

"Yeah, sure Ron."

"I want to sign them to!"

"Alright, Pans, Weasley, calm down."

"Do you have any idea who would cast that spell?"

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Hermione's one track mind, but put his sandwich down anyway, "No, I don't, 'Mione. Otherwise Snape would have had them expelled and I would be signing a statement of the attack."

"An affidavit, Harry." Hermione ground her teeth and Harry hid his grin in a cough.

"Same thing." Zabini lounged on the couch next to her, their legs barely touching.

"But the proper name is-"

"'Mione, they're both the proper name for it." Harry chuckled at Ron's enthusiasm in conjuring his own pair of crutches and hobbling around while he ignored Hermione's disapproving stare. Parkinson sat in an armchair and cleaned her nails, not bothering to hide the glances that were sent in Ron's direction.

Sayre lay in his lap as he attended to his morning grooming ritual. Harry chuckled and messed up his fur, earning a nip on his finger in retaliation like every other time he had done this.

Some things just never changed.

"Harry, please." The pleading tone made him sigh, but Harry wouldn't change it for the world. He had been hoping that Hermione's questions about yesterday would last until lunch. There wasn't much else that he could think of right now that could create the buffer that he needed to maintain. So far they had lasted the better part of two hours, but there was one more hour until lunchtime. Maybe he should suggest a chess match between Draco and Ron. That could last a while.

Speaking of Draco, the teen sat beside him, arm slung over the back of the couch in a pose similar to Blaises, except Harry was sitting forward and leaning against the edge of the couch, completely out of range. He wasn't sure how Draco was taking this, seeing as he hadn't even glanced at him yet, except out of the corner of his eye when the other made a sudden and unplanned movement. There weren't many of those.

"Look, Hermione, I was attacked, Draco saved me, end of story." He winced when her mouth fell open. Did he forget to mention that bit?

"So, Drake saved you?" Parkinson looked at him with a small smirk. Harry pulled his legs up as far as he could pull them so that he could wrap his arms around them. Sayre hissed at him and moved to sit between him and Draco to resume his grooming.

"Yes, he saved me." He glanced at her warily. She had six more years at subtle manipulation than he did _and_ a lifetime of experience.

"Did you give him a kiss." Harry buried his head in his knees and ignored the question.

"Yes. He did." Harry broke his own rules and turned to glare at Draco, who was smirking triumphantly. Zabini chuckled Hermione huffed at everyone.

"Do none of you see how serious this is?" Harry rolled his eyes at her tone of voice and raised his head. Ron plopped into an armchair and vanished the conjured crutches. Harry double-checked to make sure his were still in existence, just to be safe.

"Yes, Hermione, I do. If it makes you feel any better I'll let you keep asking questions and I won't complain." She just eyed him oddly for several long seconds.

"On second thought," She started slowly, Harry grimaced, "How about we talk about something else."

There went his plan. Down the drain in record time, damn, he was good.

Harry sighed internally at his own sarcasm. That wasn't helping him right now, instead he looked pointedly at Hermione hand, which had come to rest on Zabini's knee a few minutes ago. She noticed his gaze, blushed, but did not move her hand. Zabini smirked victoriously.

"I didn't notice that you two had gotten so...close." He muttered and raised an eyebrow as he stretched his legs and winced when he moved too quickly and a jolt of pain spread along his leg. Draco caught it, and gently brought it to rest on the pillow that had been set on the coffee table.

Harry blushed at the tender grip and Ron snickered.

"I didn't know that you two had gotten so close." Another pillow hit the redhead in the face and Harry grinned.

"I didn't know you were a keeper in quidditch." He shot back and huffed, going after his crutches, which Draco moved away from him. Harry gaped at the blond.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To get a pain reliever that Snape sent!" Harry pointed futilely at the package that sat innocently on the counter. He huffed again when the crutches were moved out of his easy grasp, his wand confiscated, and Draco handed him a vial with the sought after potion in it, uncorked.

"Here." Draco sat back down, closer to Harry than when he had stood up. Harry gulped down the potion and sent the spelled unbreakable glass vial at Ron, who was laughing loudly and holding his gut. It hit him in the head and a loud 'ow' followed. Harry grinned to himself and leaned back.

"What was that for mate?!" Harry's smile broadened.

"That was for mocking and laughing at me."

"I was just laughing at the fact that you two act like an old married couple!" Ron's sqwack made Hermione reach over and hit him in the back of the head.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, act more your age and less like a five year old child."

"But Harry threw crap at me!" Was yelled at the same time as "His middle name is Bilius?"

Hermione smacked Zabini's head, who laughed even harder, glared at Ron, who was sulking, and turned to Harry, who was trying not to laugh too.

"Harry, I know your injured and probably in shock-"

"I'm not in shock!"

She ignored him, "-but must you act like a child and throw things?"

"Hermione!" She ignored the outraged yell again and continued to glare at him. Harry finally huffed and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.

Was _everyone_ against him and his plans today?

DMHP

Harry was ignoring Draco. Draco did not like being ignored.

It had started last night, after Harry had gone into the bathroom and dropped something. He had come out, muttering goodnight to Draco before slipping into bed with that dignified cat of his, deep in thought the whole time. Then this morning he had seemed off in his own world as Draco made their breakfast, an occasional murmur to that cat about something or other was all that he had said until their friends showed up around nine and Hermione instantly questioned him about his cast.

Draco blamed the cat. No animal should be as regal as that feline acted most of the time, until you threw that ball that Harry had gotten for him. Than he was like any other cat, a bit small, but a cat nonetheless. He snorted and made a move, destroying one of Blaise's Wizard's Chess pieces in a shatter of white. They sat at the bar, while Harry and the others were talking about fashion over at the couches. Weasley was the only one not interested in the slightest, instead he reclined on the couch next to Pansy and made inappropriate comments about the styles that they all glared at him about.

He could not, for the life of him, figure out why Pansy liked him as much as she did. He had, for years, hated Slytherins and anything snake-related, but if what Harry told him was true, the Weasley had liked her as well for at least a year. In part, he was happy that Pansy's crush(it could not be anything other than that, he refused to believe it) seemed to like her as well. He would have to find out why, it was the least he could do for his friend, especially one who he had protected and called his surrogate sister since the time he was six.

"Bloody Hell, Drake, how can you beat me three times in a row? In less than an hour, at that." Blaise leaned back and they watched the pieces repair themselves.

"You're the Ravenclaw, Blaise, you tell me." Draco replied shortly and stood up quickly. He felt coal eyes staring into his back, but he ignored it as he went over to stand behind Harry.

His leg was propped up, the ankle wrapped firmly in the bandage. He knew that Harry would be up and walking at the end of the week, despite Snape's warning to wait three weeks.

Sayre was laying on the raven's lap. He sent Draco a single glance with his odd colored eyes before yawning and closing them.

"No, Pansy, the red Potions-Mistress dress would not suit you." Hermione shook her head sadly as the magazine was handed over to Harry, making it's rounds around the trio, sans Ron. None noticed his arrival.

"I think the blue one from the Widowdawn line would look better on her." Draco just rolled his eyes at the dress that Harry was referring to. It was a pale blue, the perfect match for Pansy's eyes, with a low cut bodice that would accentuate her fairly small chest and a slit up one leg to show off the legs she was so proud of.

"You're right. It would look better on me." Pansy nodded decisively and tapped the page with her wand. It glowed for a brief second before it faded. Figures she would use a page-marking spell on a magazine and not her textbooks. Hermione took the flimsy creation and flipped the page.

"I like the next one, another from the same line, but a burgundy, to match my eyes."

"Don't overdo the color, Hermione dear. You're hair is close to that color. The red one would look so much better on you." The page was bookmarked with a different color. Suddenly Weasley snorted.

"What about Harry? What dress would look best on him?"

None of them laughed. Harry looked mortified, the other two looked curious and even seemed to be plotting as their gazes met. Draco's groin tightened as he imagined Harry in a dress. His breathing turned erratic.

"Ron, you have just doomed me." Harry's hushed voice sent a shiver down his spine to pool in his lower stomach.

"What do you mean?" Weasley's confused voice rose over the sudden flipping of pages and murmuring as Hermione and Pansy leaned toward each other.

Hermione would do Blaise good. They already fit together perfectly, complimenting each other where it mattered, and he truly seemed to like her. It was a good thing that the feeling at least seemed mutual or Draco would some serious revenge in the works.

"I mean that they're going to put me into a dress!" Harry wailed plaintively and covered his face with a whimper.

The sound went straight to Draco's cock.

"Just say no to them." Weasley shrugged and Draco glanced at Blaise who was leaning on the back of Hermione's couch, Weasley;s glance shot to him before finally noticing Draco. The blond raised his eyebrow at the redhead and made a mental note to talk to him at a further date, most likely before everyone left.

"Have you ever tried to say no to Hermione when she wanted to use you as a model for dresses?!"

"She's never asked me to." Weasley pointed out helpfully and Draco winced as Harry whimpered again and his dick hardened further.

As much as he loved Harry's whimper, it was not helping his problem. Nor was Blaise helpfully pointing out dresses.

"You were a model for Hermione?!" Draco grimaced at the Weasel's rather unmanly shriek.

"That took you a minute," Harry ground out and Ron winced, "Yes, I was. She even took pictures."

"Sorry, mate." Weasley grimaced again.

"We have more important things to be going over." Hermione stated out of the blue, looking over her shoulder at Blaise warily. He just grinned and walked around the couch to sit next to her.

"I agree."

"You're only agreeing with her because you like her." Pansy snorted, but closed the magazine and put it on the table, different pages glowing different colors. Draco heard Harry chuckle lightly at Hermione's blush. He just rolled his eyes and moved to sit next to the smaller teen whom he was intent on capturing.

HGHG

Hermione frowned at the two sitting across from her. It looked like the kiss yesterday hadn't done any good at all, if anything it was worse. Harry was pulling slightly away from Draco in a conscious gesture and Draco was trying to pull him back. Something had happened and she was bound and determined to find out what it was.

Other things needed to be handled right now, though and Hermione was not going to let the attack that had fractured her best friend's ankle go, never mind the problems that they were having. That was their problem and she would not intervene unless necessary. She knew that Blaise felt the same way, so she wasn't worried about him ruining their hard work. That was something Ron would do, not a Slytherin, especially one who resided in Ravenclaw.

"Do you have any idea who would be able to cast an Unforgivable on a student?" She watched through narrow eyes as Harry rolled his eyes, at least he was wearing his contacts.

"None whatsoever. If I didn't know Snape as well as I do now, I would say that it had been him."

"Severus would never willingly hurt a student." Draco glared at Harry, who only shrugged his shoulders.

"I know this, it doesn't change the fact that everyone, except us, Nott and Boot, are suspects." Hermione's eyes narrowed at Harry's faked nonchalance.

"In short, we need to know more about this particular Unforgivable." Hermione stood up and dusted off the knees of her jeans.

"Now, 'Mione? I know you want to figure this out just as bad as the rest of us, but this is just a bit mental."

She stilled, rage coursing through her. This was their friend that he was so blatantly ignoring the fate of! How dare he presume that she was studying for the sake of studying!

Blaise laid a hand on her shoulder and she forced herself to take a few deep breaths before she hurt her friend.

"Ron, this is something that will come in handy no matter what. Now, if you need me, I will be in the main building _researching_ before dinner. Pansy, feel free to order those outfits we picked." With that she turned and left, Blaise following her.

"You're not actually going to the main building are you?" There was amusement in his voice and she grinned at him over her shoulder, anger forgotten as she stopped at the first landing.

"No, I am not." Nott and Boot were being questioned by Dumbledore at this moment in time, so it was safe to enter their rooms. She tapped the door with her wand and entered, muttering a _lumos_ as she did. Hermione turned around from her spot in the center of the room and looked at Blaise, who had leaned against the shut door with a curious look in his eye. She just grinned before moving her hand in a complicated gesture, thinking of the nonverbal incantation with every fiber of her being. They were not her strong point.

Silence filled the air for several seconds before yesterday's events filled the air around them.

Hermione frowned at how quiet Nott and Boot were as they waited for Harry, who was muttering under his breath as he climbed the stairs on the other side of the door, his words words audible, but unintelligible, he most likely didn't even know he was talking out loud. The two teens barged out of the room and a scuffle ensued.

"_Get Draco, Sayre!"_ Harry's final words before he was pulled into the room came into her mind as if from over miles of windswept beach. This was how the book described the spell proceeding, so Hermione only nodded to herself.

"Where did you find this spell?" She glanced at Blaise and grinned slightly at the awed look on his face.

"Restricted Section in fifth year, when I was trying to find illusions to fool the Inquisitorial Squad, I found this instead. It's called the _Illusions of Truth_. It shows images of whatever has happened in an area, but only as long as you hold that occurrence in your mind." She stepped to the side as Boot fell backward from Harry's punch, and hit Blaise's side. He wrapped an around her shoulders and pulled her tighter.

"_That was for attempting to poison Draco last year."_ This was something she would have to ask him about.

"Who gave you permission to go in there? McGonagall?" Hermione snorted at Blaise's guess and ignored Harry's curse as he fell onto his back, ankle held at an odd angle. That was when he broke it, then. She winced at the black eye that must have been healed by Severus and the scratch that was above it from a hex.

"Actually, no." Nott and Boot raised their wands and Hermione silenced Blaise's next question with a glare as Draco burst into the room. If Hermione still had any doubt as to how he felt toward Harry, it was destroyed in an instant at the possessive look in the blond's eye's as he disarmed them.

It just raised more questions in her mind, but she wasn't too worried about those. Questions could be answered, after all.

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

3,047 words and almost seven full pages, sweet.

Sorry again for the late update. I'm not happy about this chapter in the slightest, though.

I decided to go a bit differently with the names this time. Instead of the meaning, I'm putting a brief version of the etymology, where it was available.

From TheLastCrumpet-

Ebony- From the English word _ebony_ for the black wood which comes from the ebony tree. It is ultimately from the Egyptian word _hbnj_. This name is most often used by black parents.

Alexander- Latinized form of the Greek name Alexandros, which meant "defending men" from Greek alexo, "to defend, help" and aner, "man". In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, King of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India.

Linnea- From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. It was named by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus, who named it after himself, it being his favorite flower.

From undercoverphlover-

Takara- Means "treasure" in Japanese.

From MomoTessen-

Carleny- Variation of Carlene, feminine form of Carl, which is the German version of Charles.

This whole excerpt I got from disgruntledfairy and copied and pasted right out of her review-

I adore the name: Eva. It means "life" when translated from "Eve" which is, of course, the wife of Adam in the Bible. I hate that affiliation, but it's there. It can also be a variation of the name "Aoife" which is Gaelic and translates into "beautiful or radiant". "Aoife" is pronounced EE-fa, hence the name "Eva" being a variant spelling. Either translation of the name is a positive one, which is why it's one of my favorites.

I'm very fond of this name: Aliiza. It is Arabic and translates into "joyful or joy". It can also be spelled "Aleeza", but I like the variant with the "i"'s. It is pronounced a-LEE-za.

This last bit came from madness comes to all- SAMANTHA which is Aramaic. Aramaic is the main language of a babylonian text as well as being used in the bible. The language is currently endangerd. The name however means listener.


	10. Down The Drain

Disclaimer: I do not own them, but I do own Sayre.

Note: Sooo sorry about the update. School started up, so I had to get into the rhythm of school again, but then, when I was starting to write this chapter (I was halfway through it, actually), the phone bill failed to get paid, it still isn't paid, so I couldn't even try to post it (Computers at school all have this site banned). My friend is posting this up for me as it is. I'm soo sorry to all of you, especially those who thought I was ending this or got mega writers block. The moment I get writers block or put it on hiatus or abandon it, I will let you know. I promise.

Until the internet situation is fixed, and my updates are a tad bit more regular, there will be no goals to be reached or exceeded.

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Ten**

**Down the Drain**

Some things were too good to be true, Harry was sure of it. Right now that included his roommate, who was glaring at him from their kitchenette.

"Absolutely not."

"But Draco! It's been almost four weeks! Snape said I could walk on my own two feet three days ago!"

"You mentioned yesterday that your foot still hurt."

"But _Draco_!" Harry resisted the urge to act like a bratty infant, if only for the fact that it would look ridiculous. Instead, he crossed his arms and pouted. He quickly noticed that Draco's eyes zeroed in on his lips so pout turned into a glare and he huffed. Draco didn't deserve to look at him right now. All Harry wanted to do was punch him right in the middle of that perfect nose of his.

"Now you sound like a little child whinging."

"I don't care. I've been stuck in bed for the past month, Draco." He better appreciate the growl coming from Harry's vocal cords, which it seemed he did, if the narrowing eyes was anything to go by.

"Harry, I forbid you to move out of that bed without your crutches or I will tie you up." A shiver went down Harry's spine but he pushed it away, this was not the time. He wanted to get the hell out of bed, but Draco was being a bloody stupid prat about it and not letting him move at all. His fingers started to inch to where his wand was sheathed to the side of his leg, the digits almost itching to cast a spell at the blond.

"My crutches are on the couch and you won't give them to me." The words came out from between Harry's teeth and Draco's frown turned even more severe.

"You hit me with them."

"You tried to hand feed me!"

"Because you shouldn't be moving that much!" Harry opened his mouth to reply, but he felt the metaphorical light bulb light up over his head as a hippogriff rammed into his abdomen at the realization of some obscure fact that everyone else had figured out before him, Ron included.

Draco was worried about him, even if he was refusing to admit it to himself. Harry's heart swelled and the trembling of his arm receded slightly. The Slytherin was going about it the completely wrong way, but he was trying to protect Harry.

Sayre nudged his elbow and gave him that feline grin that only he had, full of his 'I told you so' attitude that Harry had to force himself not to throw him across the room, again. Either way it went, though, Draco cared enough to threaten to tie him to the bed, Harry could work with that and make everything turn out in his favor. He had enough practice on Madam Pomphrey and Hermione with this particular technique, after all. Since his other plan, ignore the blond unless necessary, had essentially gone down the drain when he decided that he would rather see Harry safe more than anything else.

It would be easier if someone was here on Harry's side, though, which was what Ron usually did. When Madam Pomphrey, or Hermione, decided that he needed to be in bed a bit longer Harry usually pouted and ignored them and Ron would look at them with this pitiful look until they relented. This time he would have to be a bit more drastic and push how much Draco cared about him at the same time, which was something he really didn't want to do, but he also didn't want to remain in bed any longer, which is what he had pretty much done since Tuesday, and today was Friday.

Harry made sure that his face was hidden by his hair, which Hermione had refused to let him cut, and prepared to commence his manipulation.

He sniffed loudly.

"Harry?" Draco's voice was a bit unsure, but he continued on valiantly. Harry knew that there was a reason that he liked him, "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine." He rubbed his tear ducts as inconspicuously as he could and felt his eyes begin to water and pretended to stifle another sniffle. Thank Merlin Dudley used to brag about how he got his parents to do whatever he wanted them to do.

Several hesitant footsteps sounded, "Your definition of fine apparently differs from mine, Potter." Draco snorted sarcastically and Harry's heart sped slightly. This was the man that he had come to love, the snarky sarcastic prat who hid his heart and emotions behind layers of mercurial ice and fell back on hostility the moment he became worried or scared.

"I'm fine, Draco, just got some cat fur in my eyes." There were a few more steps coming closer and Harry turned his head, pulling his legs up a little into a defensive pose.

"I didn't know you were allergic to cats." Harry saw Draco lean against the bed post and he pulled his legs a bit closer to his chest. Draco had to come to him right now, he couldn't risk the possible loss of face if he went to Draco, even if he was only exaggerating his upset at being stuck in bed.

"I'm not," He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. It was a good thing that he had his glasses instead of his contacts today, he hadn't had a chance to put them in yet, "but the fur still bothers my eyes."

"Harry." Draco's voice was matter of fact and this time Harry sniffled a bit louder as he ran his fingers through a relaxed Sayre's fur.

"I'm fine, Draco, tired of being stuck in bed and feeling useless, but I'm fine." He chanced a glance at the blond and had to hide his grin at the thunderstruck expression on his face, Harry snuffled a bit instead.

"You feel...useless?" Harry felt Draco sit down on the bed next to his feet and then run his fingers up and down Harry's arm gently, smoothing down the goosebumps that inevitably rose.

"Yeah, I know, ridiculous." He didn't have to work hard to make his voice sound bitter.

The results were astounding, though. Harry had expected to either get a lecture or to just be handed his crutches, instead he was pulled into a mind-blowing, tongue-battling, toe-curling, hair-raising kiss that ended only milliseconds before he would have given into any of Draco's demands, remaining in bed for the rest of his life being one of them. Draco did pull back though and threaded his fingers through Harry's dark hair, and smirked at the moan that erupted from Harry's mouth from the sensations on his scalp. The smirk turned gentle and the fingers moved to his cheek and jaw.

"You should have just told me how much it bothered you. I would have let you out of bed weeks ago, when the potion would have been done doing it's work, Sev's instructions be damned." Draco got up and went into the bathroom.

Harry didn't look the gift hippogriff in the beak, but jumped up and got some clothes out of his trunk

He really needed a cold shower.

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

"Do you have another migraine, Harry?"

"I don't have a migraine, Hermione, just the beginning of a headache."

Draco watched as Hermione huffed from her position on one side of the raven-haired teen, Pansy sat on the other side of Harry, while Draco had been forced to sit in an armchair. All of them had assembled about two hours ago and this was the fifth time that Hermione had asked Harry about the headaches, Pansy had asked four times about the headaches, Weasley had looked confused from his position next to an indifferent Blaise on the other couch, and Draco was tired of being snubbed.

Really, really, tired of being snubbed.

"Did you have your potion today?" She questioned relentlessly.

"What potion?" Pansy asked over Harry's head, whose left eyelid had started to twitch a good fifteen minutes ago.

"His headache potion." Her eyes didn't move from Pansy's, but Draco could smell the lie wafting in the air.

"No, Snape usually doesn't send it for another ten minutes." His voice was exasperated, and Draco barely felt bad about it. Served the prat right for ignoring him...

...although Harry did almost broke down and cry in his arms this morning, and Draco did get a kiss for rescinding his decisions on the matter the crutches.

Alright, stole a kiss that was responded to voluntarily. His point still stood.

"Sev is punctual, isn't he?" Harry's jade eyes flashed to him and Draco smirked at him, reclining slightly. Harry flushed, twitched, and looked away quickly, all before responding.

"Yes, he's always on time."

Pansy giggled, "He was here early the day that Professor Lupin visited." Draco watched as a small smirk formed on Harry's face. Things connected rapidly in his head and he nodded in agreement, putting the fact of Harry's obvious enjoyment in playing Cupid in the back of his mind as he did.

"Hermione!" The sudden yelling had everyone's attention riveted to the blazing fireplace. A middle aged man with gray streaked hair gazed at them wildly with an odd keening noise in the background.

"Dad? What is it? How did you get this fireplace?" Hermione was kneeling on the hearth within seconds, Blaise following her quickly and placing a calming hand on the middle of her lightly trembling back. Mr. Granger stared at him for a second before shaking his head and and staring at his daughter with an even more frayed look as the noise behind him got steadily louder.

"I called your Headmaster, and he switched me to an empty office with a cat sitting on a desk and the cat became a woman and-"

"Dad! What's going on?" He bit his bottom lip and Draco had to hold in a grin at the confused look on his face as the older man's eyebrow twitched.

"Well?" This time Harry and Weasley inched away at the tone in Granger's voice as they winced. That was bound to be an interesting story.

"It's your mom. Something happened, I don't know what-I'm a _dentist-_but-"

"I'm coming home," Hermione was already shrugging off her school robe, which she insisted on wearing a good portion of the time, and shoving it into Blaise's arms.

"I already have your Headmaster's permission. He said to stay as long as needed."

His daughter didn't respond, just start searching the mantle for floo powder as they watched her single-minded determination with slight awe.

Draco was just amused, "Floo Powder is in the middle red one." He supplied with a large smirk.

"Thank you, Draco." She shot over her shoulder as she snatched the correct one off the shelf and poured the powder into her hand.

"Your welcome, Granger." He felt Harry's gaze suddenly burning into the side of his head.

"Is your friend Harry with you? A greasy man-" Draco glared at Weasley when the red head let out a snort of laughter, "-asked me to give him a message." By now Granger's dad looked like he wanted to run around like a madman and pull his hair out by its roots. That would be even more amusing to see.

"What is it, Mr. Granger?" Harry stood up and went to kneel in front of the fireplace, a slight frown crossing his face as he glanced at the clock.

Draco say his arm twitch convulsively before the voluminous sleeve of his sweater fell over it. He frowned and looked at Blaise, who only had eyes for Granger. Draco looked at Pansy, who frowned and tapped her chin delicately in thought.

"The greasy man, Cerberus Stake, or something like that-"

"Snape, Dad, Severus _Snape_." The bushy haired girl tapped her foot impatiently and waved her hand at them to hurry up.

"Yes, well, Mr. Snape asked me to tell you that he can't get your medicine to you today, and most likely not for a few days. He said that he would owl you to let you know why. Now, Hermione-" He ended in a whine and she cut in before he could continue.

"I'm coming, Dad. Excuse me, Harry. I'll try to brew the temporary relief when I can." With that her father ended the call and she threw the powder and stepped into the green flames, calling out the name of her home as she did. Draco looked at Harry as the teen slowly stood up.

"Potter?" Blaise looked at curiously as the smaller teen swayed slightly, reaching out one hand to catch him in case he fell.

"I'm fine, Blaise, my headache is just starting to get worse thanks to his yelling. I might need to go lay down soon."

Draco was to busy trying to figure out why Harry was pasting a sickly smile on his face as he settled on the couch with one arm hidden in his sleeve to hear Hedwig screeching at something.

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

Alright, go ahead and keep sending names in, I will list them all and get to them when I can. I can't respond to reviews from you guys for a while, unless you send it via regular email, which I can check at school and the addresses are on my author's page, but just in case you can't see it, my main one is wolfsbane2000 at yahoo dot com.

Thanks for sticking with me, despite my irregular schedule and often hectic life (I'm a homecoming attendant, so I have to get all dressed up). I'll try to update when I can, I promise.


	11. Dragon's Blood

Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I do own Sayre.

Note: Things will start to pick up from here. Another thing, if there's either something you guys think I should include, or a bit that's missing, let me know, I'll see what I can do.

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Dragon's Blood**

Draco watched Harry through narrowed eyes. His arm was hidden in his sleeve again and the smile on his lips was frayed around the edges. Blaise remained standing in front of the fire, gazing into it's depths searchingly. Pansy sat with her eyes closed as they flickered along an unseen path in her mind's eye.

Only Weasel was oblivious to the tension in the room.

"I don't remember you getting headaches last summer or the one before, mate." He began conversationally. Pansy winced and Draco sat up straighter in his seat.

"Hermione made me the potion I needed. We didn't want to worry you, that's all." The muscle in his left cheek jumped.

"Alright, mate. I thought you were getting drunk or something," He chuckled at the absurdity of the thought of it and stood up, stretching, "I'm heading to my dorm to get some work done. I'll talk to you later, let me if you get an owl from Hermione." With a jaunty wave, he left. Draco glared at Pansy.

"How you could like a tosspot like that is beyond me." He growled out as he leaned back into his seat. Pansy's returning glower was to be expected, Blaise's confused look was as well, but Harry's chuckle surprised even him.

"Ron isn't as bad as you make him out to be. Bloody hell, he's saved my life on several occasions." With another chuckle he stood up and entered the kitchenette area, opening up the magic-run refrigerator and pulling out a can of some muggle soda. Draco thought that he saw the tip of his wand for a split second but nothing happened and Harry turned back around after a minute with a slight grin still on his face, the muscles more relaxed then just a few minutes before.

"Ron saved your life?" Pansy asked curiously and the raven haired teen nodded.

"Yes. Without him I would have died my first year here."

"He did play a mean game of wizards chess, from what we heard." Blaise mentioned from his vigil on the hearth.

"Yes. Without him and Hermione, and the rest of the DA, Tom Riddle wouldn't just be a figment of our imagination and nightmares." With a small smile and a gentle shake of his head, Harry settled on a barstool and rapidly sipped his drink.

Draco resisted the urge to tap his chin in thought. Something was off with Harry; his eyes were darting around wildly and the hand that held his drink trembled slightly. The other two didn't seem to notice it, though.

Draco shrugged imperceptibly and relaxed into his seat. Harry was most likely worried about his friend and dealing with a headache. There was nothing to worry about, but that didn't keep him from looking at the other man every few seconds to reassure himself.

Blaise sighed and Harry rolled his eyes, "Don't worry, Zabini, 'Mione can take care of whatever is going on. Go get some rest and if Ron or I get an owl, I'll owl you."

"Are you sure?" Blaise's eyes were unclouded as he looked at Harry with anxious orbs. Harry nodded, another gentle smile curving his lips as he took a sip from his drink with a still slightly shaking hand.

"I'm sure. I doubt you'll be missing much around here anyway."

"Just floo me. Lisa won't mind, she talks with her husband late into the night as it is." With that he turned and left the room without a backward glance. Pansy finally opened her eyes and Draco spotted Harry conjuring a straw and hiding his hands under the counter top. Draco frowned and stored the information away swiftly.

"I might as well go, too." With a soft sigh Pansy stood up and headed to the door.

"Alright, Pans."

"'Bye, Parkinson."

She paused in the doorway, one hand resting on the frame, and turned to look at Harry with curious eyes, "Call me Pansy." With that she shut the door quietly behind her.

The room fell into silence then, except for the crackling of the fire. Draco was forcefully reminded that Halloween, and with it Samhain(1), was less than a month away. It had been the day that Harry's parents had died, leaving him with a family and a destiny that he didn't fulfill until he was a fifteen year old boy, enraged at the murder of Sirius Black.

All newspapers agreed that it had been in the Ministry, after Harry's godfather had died in the Department of Mysteries. The Dark Lord had faced him down in the Atrium, the fountain standing behind Harry like a shining beacon for the Wizarding world. It was here that the reports altered, depending on who told it and which newspaper you read. The Prophet declaimed that it was a splendid battle, with flaring lights and amazing crashes and bangs. The _Quibbler_ proclaimed that it was a sheer battle of mental will. _Witch Weekly_ only spoke of Harry Potter's courage and grace, and availability. The others weren't even worth mentioning, all of them stealing their apparent knowledge from the top magazines and newspapers.

Draco wanted the real story, the one that Harry hadn't told to anyone. He didn't give interviews and Dumbledore protected him from nosy reporters when he was at Hogwarts; Draco doubted that the other members of the Golden Trio even knew what had happened. He wanted to be the one that Harry opened up to, wanted to be the one that Harry turned to when he needed something, even if it was as simple as a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear.

He wanted to be the one. Period.

And it both scared and comforted him.

".....tomorrow?" Harry's voice broke through his thoughts and Draco turned to look at him pensively.

"I wasn't listening, what did you say?" Harry rolled his eyes but repeated the question all the same.

"I asked, do you mind if you go to the library building tomorrow? If I don't get my potion I'll wake up with a migraine and have to stay in bed." Almost every word was punctuated by a sip of his drink and Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Why not just take a headache potion?" He asked simply.

"They don't work." With that, he got up to get another drink. This time Draco distinctly heard the sound of wood on the aluminum can. This time, as soon as Harry sat down, Sayre jumped onto the counter and knocked the drink onto the floor. The familiar scent of alcohol wafted up to Draco's nose before Harry spelled the mess away with a hasty movement of his wand.

"Sayre! You should know better than that!" Harry didn't get up to get another one, choosing to run his hand through his hair and take a shuddery breath instead. Draco narrowed his eyes at the intense look the cat gave him. It reminded him too much of his father.

"Harry, was that Firewhiskey I smelled?" Harry let out a short bark of laughter, but quickly winced and rubbed at his temples.

"No, it wasn't."

"I smelled alcohol, Harry." His voice was lower, more dangerous. The git disregarded it.

"No, you didn't. I have to work on my Muggle Studies essay." With that, Harry got up and headed to the desk next to his bed, erecting a privacy barrier and blocking both Draco and Sayre, who had started to follow, out. Draco turned his glare on the cat, who seemed to be glaring right back at him.

"I smelled alcohol and I am going to figure out what is going on. What more do you want?" The gray cat turned up his nose and started to clean his paws. Draco resisted the urge to growl at it, but instead walked to where Harry had left the first can that he had drank. Leaning over, he sniffed it delicately and instantly reared back, pupils dilated at the smell.

_Alcohol._

His father had smelled like this when he had gone home after his fourth year, when the Dark Lord was brought back.

Draco turned around, intent on forcing himself into Harry's privacy bubble and demand the truth, when he almost tripped over Sayre.

"You knew about this," He hissed out dangerously, the cat merely gazed at him, "How could you let him do that to himself? My father disappeared because of this shite, Harry shouldn't come to the same fate." The silvery head dropped slightly in what looked like regret, before jumping onto the counter again and meeting Draco's eyes squarely.

His paw landed on the can and tipped it over. A smoking purple liquid dripped onto the surface of the counter and Draco's eyes widened. No, that wasn't Firewhiskey, like his father preferred, this was something far more dangerous to the drinkers health and stability.

"Dragon's Blood." He muttered in horror and turned his attention to the dark gray bubble that surrounded Harry at his desk.

DMHP

He kept the shaking of his arm down to a minimum as he pulled the parchment that he had started his essay on towards him. The dammed cat was right-may his forebears be condemned to pitiless after-lifes-he was caving to easily to the addiction that ruled his life now. He just didn't know how to quit.

When he had first realized that he was bordering on addiction, this time last year, he had tried to stop, but no one could help him with it, considering that no one knew of it until just four short months ago. Ginny might have suspected it, being the closest one to Harry next to Ron and Hermione, but she had confronted him on one of his more sober days and he had denied it.

Those thoughts just served to remind him of why he had started to drink in the first place. He put his head in his hands and took another stuttering breath as the conversation surrounded and consumed him.

"_What's up with you, mate? You've looked sick since you came to the Burrow."_

"_It's nothing, Ron, don't worry."_

"_I'm going to worry! You're my best mate!"_

"_It's just that I've been... dealing with some things over the summer that I couldn't understand. I don't know if I can even admit it to myself."_

"_Does it have anything to do with Voldemort or Sirius?"_

Harry had to chuckle again at the way Ron had hesitantly said the names, afraid that one would jump out and kill him or the other would evoke a torrent of unending tears.

"_No, neither of them."_

"_Than what is it?"_

"_I'm not sure if I can tell you."_

"_Please? We're so worried, mate."_

The blue eyes looking at him with genuine fear had done him in. He had stammered out his confession, never mentioning that his dilemma had been bothering him since the middle of fifth year, when he had randomly noticed that Draco's eyes were the same shade as the silver that represented the Slytherin House. That had been right before Christmas break, but he hadn't even admitted it to himself until Voldemort was gone.

Ron had taken it as a joke and laughed heartily for a few minutes until he had noticed the way that Harry's eyes had dimmed considerably. His color had faded rapidly until he got up, said he needed some time to think. When Harry had bid him goodnight only a few hours later, Ron had looked at him coldly and refused to talk to him civilly for almost two months.

By then it was too late for Harry. He had fallen into the role of Draco's silent protector, always there to cast a charm or hex when necessary. Harry was also getting completely pissed on a near nightly basis in the Room of Requirement and then not returning until it was almost morning and he had puked his guts out several times and taken a hangover potion that the Room would provide for him.

At first it had only been once a week, after Ron would yell at him about something. Hermione would try to be there for him, but it had been getting harder for her, Ron had eventually taken to insulting Harry in the dorm rooms before bed, after she had already left them. After a while Harry stopped going to the dorm at all unless he had to, staying in the Room of Requirement instead.

It was during that time period that he had saved Draco's life, or at least health, multiple times. Harry had taken to tailing him during his nighttime rounds, under his Invisibility Cloak, of course, and thanks to that, he had stopped several curses from taking off a limb. He was positive that Draco didn't know of his escapades, of course.

It was also during this time that he had fallen the hardest for the Dark Prince of Slytherin. At first, the hounding was sheer curiosity, to see what it was that attracted Harry to him. Harry had quickly found a long list of reasons, and it grew almost nightly. There was little that he didn't know about Draco's personality, or history, by the time that Valentines Day had rolled around and Boot had given him those poisoned chocolates.

Harry still wasn't sure how he could tell that they were poisoned. Something inside of him had screamed the moment that Draco had opened the box of Honeydukes chocolates at dinner. It was a simple matter of using a charm to burst a few, believing it to be jealousy that brought on the emotion. Boot had given himself away. He had been sitting behind Harry at the time and had started to curse the minute that he had seen the mess. No teacher heard his muttering, but Snape had rushed over to his godson after the minor explosion(Draco hadn't even gotten any on him, only Nott was covered, who had been whispering in Draco's ear) and had smelled the poison lingering in the air.

After that, Harry didn't doubt his instincts again.

Even now, sitting at his desk, attempting to finish his essay on the British muggles governmental system. It literally yelled at him, much like Hermione would, but he couldn't figure out what it was saying. He finally sighed and did his best to ignore it.

A little while later Harry pushed away his completed assignment and cast a quick tempus. He started with shock to realize that he had been hiding at his desk for far longer than he thought and dinner was long past. Draco had most likely made himself something and gone to bed, seeing as it was a little after eleven.

Harry stood up, stretched, and dispelled the bubble in a single movement, which he was strangely proud of, before turning to the counter and seeing a sight that had his addiction-crazed heart stuttering.

Draco had fallen asleep at the counter, head pillowed on his arms with Sayre curling up next to his blond hair. Harry smiled slightly at the sight and picked up the can of transfigured soda, snorting at the irony as he threw it away.

"Of all the things I could have learned, this is what I spent so much of my time on."

With another sigh he turned back around and pulled out his wand. Some things he hated having to do to protect himself and others.

"_Obliviate_ ." Draco's breath evened out further and his shoulders relaxed completely. Harry sighed in relief into the silence of the room.

"That won't work for long," Glancing up he looked into the silver eyes of the Malfoy family patriarch, "I trained him to break through those when he was only seven." Harry chuckled morbidly.

"Being the son of a Death Eater is a dangerous game to play," His wand was slipped into his pocket and he rested his hand on Draco's head, fingers threading through the silky strands easily, "Right now it's the best I can do. You told me yourself that no one should find out about my drinking. It's my fault that Severus, and then Hermione, found out in the first place, Mr. Malfoy."

"It's Lucius." A feline growl passed through pale lips and Harry smirked expertly at him.

"Of course, sir."

"I should kill you for lying to my son."

"Then why don't you? Right now, that's all I deserve." Harry blinked as he felt a cool droplet run down his face. He wiped it away quickly and continued to concentrate on Draco's head, plopping inelegantly on a stool next to the taller teen.

"Because my son cares for you-"

"No he doesn't." Lucius ignored him, choosing to run a hand through his own hair in an attempt to take out a few tangles instead.

"-and for some odd reason I do as well. Now, I will take a shower, you are to get out the robes that Hedwig delivered for me while you worked."

Harry snorted again, but nodded and charmed his brush and a pair of scissors to follow Lucius into the bathroom. Maybe the'_Malfoy patriarch_' would get a clue and cut his now bum-length hair. Harry snorted a third time and stood up, leaving Draco at the counter for now and instead looking at Hedwig, who had a wrapped parcel on the floor in front of her perch. He picked it up and set it on the floor inside of the bathroom, ignoring Lucius' comment about needing a different kind of shampoo.

He cast a lightening charm on Draco instead and picked him up, as best as he could with his already trembling arms. Luckily the Slytherin's bed was only a few feet away and Harry reluctantly put him down. He took off Draco's shoes and covered him up, only allowing himself to linger for a few minutes after that before heading to his own bed. Lucius would be out after a while on his own, he knew better than to get caught by his own son.

And Lucius accused him of hiding from his problems.

_Hypocrite._

DMHP

"Draco! Your friends are at the door!"

Draco sat up slowly, holding a hand to his spinning head. Something wasn't right, there was something that he had to do, something that he needed to talk to someone about. If only he could remember.

"Malfoy! Get out of bed!" He looked at the lump across the room that was laying on Potter's bed, and the silvery cat laying on top of said lump. Potter must have given Sayre a bath after he had gone to bed last night, a trim too.

"Alright, I'm getting up, hold your flying horses." With a barely restrained groan he stood up and headed to the door, attempting to figure out why he had dreamed that he had heard his fathers voice as he did so.

"Finally." Weasley pushed past him and headed to his friend's bed. Blaise and Pansy walked in at a calmer state and took their positions on the couches. Draco shut the door and looked down at his wrinkled clothes. With his brow furrowed he opened his wardrobe and pulled out a clean set, going to the bathroom and changing into them. In the living room the other two talked quietly in an attempt to not wake up Potter.

Weasley didn't bother and Draco heard his shriek of pain as he walked back into the main room. The redhead sat on the floor, cradling his hand to his chest and Draco could only roll his eyes as Harry went back under the blankets, a privacy shield covering his bed this time. Draco smirked and sat in an armchair across from his friends as the Weasel nursed his swelling hand.

"Is he always like this?" Blaise asked cautiously as the only true Gryffindor settled himself in the other armchair. Draco shrugged and petted Sayre as the cat curled up on the arm of his chair, shut off from Potter's bed with another shield.

_Another? But this is the first time that he's cast one._

"It's worsened in the last year or two. After... well... you know. It's like he's trying to catch up on his sleep, or something." Weasley shrugged and started trying to cast the countercurse on his now purplish hand, eying the spreading color cautiously.

"Didn't he get nightmares?"

"Tons, he did. Most of them were visions, from Voldemort. He spent five years watching, unable to stop the damage." Weasley sighed and finally found the right charm, grinning as the swelling started to recede.

"Five years?" Pansy frowned and eyed the still lump with something akin to concern in her eyes. Draco repressed his sigh. Looks like Potter would have a Slytherin acting like his mother.

Alright, a Slytherin-Gryffindor. The fact of the matter still stood.

And he wanted to know why he was suddenly feeling protective of the raven-haired git himself.

"Don't worry about it Pansy, I'm sure he's over it by now."

"Yeah, after he left his relatives for the last time he had us help pick out a flat for him. It's a nice little thing, in Dragon Square off of Diagon Alley, it is. He's trying to pick out furniture, but so far it's not working so well. The poor kid has no design sense, as Hermione calls it."

Draco snorted, "Like you have any either, Weasley." The red-head only grinned before stretching and going into the kitchenette, Sayre following and pushing his bowl around to get fed.

Blaise snorted as he picked up a magazine that was laying on the table, "I wonder how Hermione is doing at her parents."

"Don't worry, Blaise," Pansy stated as she watched a common barn owl enter through the window and head straight to Potter's bed, passing through the privacy barrier easily, Draco vaguely saw it pecking at Potter's head and grinned.

Served him right.

So why did he want to roast the bird for disturbing Potter?

Something wasn't right and he had a feeling that an _obliviate_ had something to do with it. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the shifting form of Potter.

What embarrassing thing had he seen this time that would constitute a spell of that magnitude?

He watched as Potter came out from under the blankets and took down the barrier as he shoved the parchment into his friend's hand. His green eyes were bloodshot and Draco had the sudden urge to force him to go back to bed.

"How's your headache, Harry?" Pansy rushed over to him and instantly started to check his head for fever. Draco rolled his eyes as the Weasel handed the letter to Blaise, who nodded in thanks before devouring the words hungrily

"I'm fine, just need to lay back down and hope one of them sends my potion soon. I'm useless at brewing it myself." Potter chuckled nervously and started back to his bed.

"Could Draco brew it? He is better than Hermione at that." Draco watched as Potter swerved around quickly and shook his head, and grabbed the back of a chair to keep his balance as he swayed dangerously.

"I wouldn't want him to go to any trouble. I'll be fine on my own for a few days." This time he rubbed the back of his neck and retreated back to his bed, casting the barrier again.

The others started to talk about Granger's letter, her mother was fine, but she was going to stay a week or two to keep an eye on both of her parents.

Draco ignored them and leaned back in his chair instead, choosing to delve into his mind in an attempt to find anything that altered or blocked his memory. All he could find was a vague memory of Potter making him promise to call each other by their first names and a pair of really tight jeans that outlined his bum perfectly...

A snarl stopped itself at his lips and he glared across the room. There was an _obliviate_ on him. He had every intention of breaking it, and finding out what he had done that would make Potter do something like that to him.

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

Thanks for all of your reviews, they mean a lot to me. Sorry if Draco seemed a bit out of character, as it is, I debated about this chapter for almost a month after I wrote it. I had to reread it and evaluate how I want things to turn out before I ended up rewriting it.

How many of you expected that Sayre was Lucius?

(1) Samhain- pronounced Soh-in, is a Wiccan holiday, saying goodbye to the God. It is believed that this is the day the the barrier between the physical and spiritual realms is the thinnest.


	12. Best Laid Plans

Disclaimer: If I owned them, would I be writing this? Seriously?

AN: I'm starting to feel sorry for Harry.... None of his plans are going as he wants them to.

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Best Laid Plans**

Nine hours.

_Nine hours_ he had sat there and tried to remove the block. He had both struggled and concentrated and tried in equal amounts, so far there was nothing. Not even his father's strongest ones would take this much time to remove. Whatever Potter was hiding from him was worth a ton of blackmail. Perhaps he had seen Potter naked?

Why did that send a remembered thrill through him?

This wasn't helping him! With a snarl of frustration to the silence in the room he started to pace. Draco was by no means an impatient man, he had gone through plenty of things that would have made a saint give up their sainthood, and he had come out of those things smiling. Sitting through a Death Eater meeting and watching his father get punished for doing what he had been told to do, was one of those things. Oh, he had never joined the Death Eaters, nothing could have made the idea seem like a good one to him. That had been the one good thing his father had done for him. Every time the subject of the students joining the ranks came up, the Malfoy patriarch would stall for time. He said things like, 'the students are not yet capable of meeting your demands,' or, 'are you sure that you want half-trained fools among your followers?'

It had worked, Draco's extra training had continued in the dark cellars of Malfoy Manor. It was something that, at the time, he had hated with a passion. Now, he could see why his father had pushed him so. If the Dark Lord had won, with Potter defeated, or if he had been forced to get the Mark, the skills he had been taught would be rather useful.

Except they weren't useful right now. His father's strongest _obliviate_ had only taken him an hour or so to break. Lucius had only told him that Voldemort's weakest would take about the same amount of force. But this, this was ridiculous! How could something from that scrawny boy take this much? It shouldn't be allowed!

Draco conveniently ignored the bit of him that found simple joy in the sheer power that it took to create a block this strong. He also neglected to catch the stray thought that it took a strong emotion to hold something like this in place.

After all, what was the point of taking notice of things like that?

He ground his teeth and lay down on his bed, pushing Potter's nosy cat off of it with a sweep of his arm. The others had left shortly after lunch, claiming that they needed to work on their assignments. Potter's privacy barrier had stayed up the whole time, and Draco could vaguely see him working on something at the desk next to his bed.

Why couldn't he break through the barrier? Had Potter put a secret word in it? That took immense skill, or enormous will, but they were damn near impossible to break once put in place. With a growl he stretched out, flinging his arms to either side, and the stray thought that something was missing from his bed went unheeded. No one would ever sleep in his bed.

So why did he feel as if he was breaking a vow he had made to himself? He growled and went over the weaknesses of the _obliviate_ spell.

Strong emotions could make the block stronger, yes, but those strong emotions could also leave holes in it as well. Sometimes those holes could easily be exploited, depending on who the block had been put on, it was just a matter of finding them. This was something that Draco had only a bit of practice with, so that method would not be used until last.

Another weakness was on how much was repressed. A few minutes to a few hours was nothing to worry about, easily explained away by exhaustion or other events during that day. Something spanning more than one day would make the block more detectable, allowing them to find someone to break it. That meant this block was covering up things that had started at the beginning of the year, if the holes in his impeccable memory could be believed. But what was it covering?

The last instability in the block, and in this kind in particular, stemmed from its nature. An _obliviate_ with a secret word on it made it nearly impossible to break, yes, but it also depended on the word itself. All it took was someone, anyone, saying the word, in casual conversation as well, to remove the secret word, but the block would remain until he or someone else removed it.

Only, the removal of the block could kill him in the process. It had happened many times, and it wasn't widely known, the _obliviate_ being a borderline dark spell already. Death, or at least a coma while his mind adjusted to the memories, was a possible problem.

Draco found himself restraining a yawn and closed his eyes, despite the grim thoughts circling his head. This could be handled after he had taken a short nap. Potter wasn't going anywhere.

DMHP

Harry nearly ran into a stool and stumbled into the fridge as soon as he was sure that Draco was asleep. He needed a drink. Anything. Something with alcohol would be nice, but he didn't have the concentration to cast the spell. A muggle soda would have to do, so he drained a single can without pausing for breath. He then stumbled into the living room, bypassed the couches and fell to the floor as close to the fire as he could get without burning himself. The tremors still racked his body, and the cold absolutely refused to leave his bones.

Merlin, withdrawal was a bitch.

Sayre hit him with his claws out, and left a burning scratch on the tip of his nose. Harry winced and shook his head as the fog left his mind enough so that he could think.

"I needed that." He muttered hoarsely and sat up, shaking his head. He could get through this, it shouldn't be any harder than defeating the Dark Lord.

Bolstered by his own little pep-talk he stood up and looked over at Draco's bed, a soft smile forming on his lips as he took slow steps over there. Sayre beat him to it and jumped onto the mattress, pride shining in his eyes as he looked at his son. Harry chuckled as he gently took a seat as well.

"He does look rather peaceful right now, doesn't he. Almost like an angel," Sayre snorted at that, "Alright, someone who hasn't seen some of the same things I have. Better?" The cat nodded.

Harry hesitantly reached his hand out and carded his fingers through the silken hair. Like father, like son, he decided. Sayre meowed at him, and his thoughts took a decidedly darker turn.

"I'm sorry, Draco," He muttered, palm cupping the warm cheek against his cold hand, "I didn't want to have to do that to you, especially since I kept several _obliviates_ from hitting you last year. But I'm a coward, I couldn't stand for you to find that out about me, not yet anyway." Harry chuckled drily, ignoring Lucius' presence as he spoke, he didn't know if he could get the words out otherwise, and he didn't know if he'd ever again have the strength to say them.

"It all started last year, really, when I first started drinking. Ron had decided that he wasn't going to be my friend over my sexuality, and I did the only thing I knew how to. I drank, and I hid. Night after night, week after week. At first it was enough to just get drunk, but that stopped working after a while. No shit, right?

"The whole time I did that, I was protecting you, keeping you safe. I'm sure you figured out someone liked you enough to keep you alive, I can imagine how big your head had gotten over that. It wasn't until sometime in January that I figured out why I was doing such stupid things when you didn't even know it was me."

Harry took a deep breath before continuing, a wry smile twisting his lips, "I liked you, more than liked you. Hermione would have classified it as love, but I'm not sure if I feel comfortable calling it that, even now. After you kept Nott and Boot from killing me," He paused as Draco twitched, but it stopped after a second, and he continued, "I had to do some hard thinking. Yes, Draco, I can think and not have my head implode with the effort.

"I can't, in good conscious, make you fall for me. Your father would probably roast me alive if I succeeded," Sayre swatted his leg, Harry ignored it, "But you have more in your future than I do, I'm just a drunken sod. Not worth the effort. Don't look at me like that, cat.

"We have separate paths, Draco, mine just happens to be in the shadows behind you. I had forgotten that. Anyway, I guess I should let you sleep." Harry sighed and leaned down, laying a chaste kiss on Draco's lips before standing up, every nerve in his body screaming for a good drink. To bad someone had other plans in mind.

"If I wasn't already positive about how you felt, your little speech would have erased all doubts," Harry spun to face the fireplace, and had to grab the corner post of the bed as dizziness swept over him, "You are aware that you look like shit, correct?"

Harry rolled his eyes as he regained his equilibrium, but remained where he stood, not trusting his feet quite yet, "Where are you, Severus?"

"Following a lead. Whoever cast that _imperious_ on Nott and Boot left a trail a mile wide. It just took me a while to find it." Snape sniffed delicately.

"As long as they don't target Draco." Harry stated decisively as he crossed his arms.

"Speaking of my godson, why are you giving up? I thought you loved him." The last was sneered.

"I don't like the idea of manipulating him. It isn't right."

"So you give up entirely? That's not very Slytherin, Harry." Snape chided, Harry growled.

"Well I'm not much of a Gryffindor either." He shot back, glowering.

"That much is obvious, since you are not only running, you also _obliviated_ him. That is punishable by a term in Azkaban, Harry."

"I don't care." His arm started to twitch uncontrollably and Harry could have torn it off in his frustration. Snape's eyes narrowed.

"How bad is the withdrawal?"

"Bad enough."

"Do not take that tone with me, young man."

"I'll take whatever tone I want with you. It's all your fault that I'm like this anyway! If it wasn't for you and that damned cat-" Sayre wisely darted to by the fireplace from the tone of Harry's voice, "-I would be dead by now anyway!"

Snape's stare turned deadly, and the room chilled considerably. Harry snapped his mouth shut, instantly regretting everything he had said. What was wrong with him?

"You would leave my godson unprotected?"

"I didn't mean it like that," He muttered, lowering his gaze to his hands, "You know I wouldn't willingly do that."

"You love him, correct?"

"If you want to use that term, yeah, I do."

"Yes, Mister Potter. You will use correct grammar with me," Harry mumbled an apology, "You would go to any cost to protect him, correct?"

Harry nodded reluctantly. Snape continued, "If admitting your problem to him and removing the _obliviate_ would protect him, would you?"

"Without a second thought." He glanced up at the fireplace, to see the increasingly pensive look on Snape's face.

"You might have to consider that one day, Harry. Draco already knows he's been _obliviated_, and my godson is far from stupid. He most likely already suspects that you're the one who put it on him."

"It's a risk I have to take. What do you know about the attack?" Harry stayed where he was, fingers playing with the tips of Draco's hair.

"Not enough," He sighed, and Harry was surprised that the older man was being honest, "I know someone who was a professor here at Hogwarts one point in is the one who cast the _imperio_."

"How do you know that?" He was careful to keep his tone interested and polite. He didn't need Snape any angrier with him than he already was.

"All professors are keyed into the spellcasting wards, so where a student would not be able to cast an Unforgivable, a professor can."

"So we have a list of all previous and current professors. That narrows it down." Some of the tension drained out of Harry's shoulder and neck muscles.

"Quite." He rolled his eyes, Snape sounded extremely self-assured. But if it was a previous professor, where was Snape?

"So, why aren't you here?"

"As I said, following a lead. Whoever cast the Unforgivable had it set on a timer."

"It had been cast over the summer?" Harry resisted the urge to stand up and throw things, this was getting harder!

"Or several years ago, and like I said, only a professor could have kept the spell set and activated while they were in Hogwarts." Snape snapped.

Harry nodded slowly, and frowned as he rubbed his chin, "Where are you than?"

Snape sneered, "I had to go to my home for a few days. I have a few things here that can help detect if someone you are near means you harm in any manner. And something that will hold the withdrawal at bay, although it will only make the symptoms seem only half as bad as they actually are. You will still need the potion."

"That would help immensely," Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and stood up slowly, "Anything else, professor?"

"When I return in the morning, I will tell your friends that your migraines have gotten worse. That you must remain in bed until I can create the potions to relieve them. That will give you some time to get your damned addiction under better control. After that, during the day you will seem weakly and sick. At night you will do research and investigation work, as well as working on advanced spell work."

Harry opened his mouth to ask why, but the dots connected in his head at an astonishing rate and his mouth clicked shut. Anyone in any of the Houses could be spying on him for the person after him. And his friends would be in danger, or even the one who was carrying the spying spell. They might not even know it, but he couldn't take the risk right now.

Only, he wasn't suited to research either. His mind wondered to quickly, and the words were meaningless until the last possible minute and adrenaline forced an epiphany on him. Harry would need someone who could skim through hundreds of pages in a matter of hours instead of days. Someone who could piece things together in the time it took him to figure out what one piece of information meant.

"What about Hermione?"

Snape snorted, "She would know something is wrong otherwise. It would be for the best all around, since you can't figure the simplest of things out."

"Of course, sir." Harry flushed, and nodded, not bothering to fight something that he knew perfectly well himself.

"Do not think that I am letting you off the hook with regards to my godson, either."

The fire flared up, the green disappearing and leaving only its natural colors. Harry sighed deeply and stood up, the trembling increasing in one arm as he headed for his bed, Sayre following at his heels.

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

Alright. Done. Finally. I had actually finished this chapter once, and had to redo over half of it. I decided not to take that route, yet.


	13. The Key

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own them.

AN: Sorry for the long wait, between moving and a new job I've barely had time to sleep, but I'm starting the get the rhythm of things again. Oh, mainly Draco POV this time, with only a touch of Harry's POV.

~~ is going to denote a time skip

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**The Key**

"I still don't understand why we can't tell Ron." Hermione huffed from across the table, and Harry had to suppress the urge to twitch uncontrollably.

"Because if we told Ron he would blab it to Pansy the moment she gave him a pouty look." He responded tightly, "You barely get away with it with Blaise."

"I know, Harry, but he's been our friend and a part of our adventures this whole time, it feels wrong not to include him."

"No, Hermione, and that's final." She huffed again and he rubbed the bridge of his nose, wishing that a double dose of the potion was safe.

Severus had returned a week ago, when he said he would, and had given him the medication, along with the excuse he had given his friends. Ron had seemed worried for a moment, before grinning at Harry and telling him that he would pull through it, like he always did. Hermione had almost refused to leave his bedside until Snape had threatened her. Pansy and Blaise were honestly anxious about his well being, but something in Snape's eyes had calmed them down enough to pull Hermione out with them. Draco's indifference had honestly hurt Harry, and sent him into a whirl of self pitying that he was still struggling with.

He rubbed his chest, trying to remove the sting of hurt physically, and sighed deeply, staring at the page in front of him blankly. Studying the wards weren't going to help him protect Draco, or protect his friends. All it would do would fill his head with nonsense that he couldn't make fit into any puzzle. That was Hermione's strength, not his.

It didn't help that the charms Severus had given him only helped for an hour or two before draining his energy, so he kept them in a bag unless he needed them. The potion did its job, which was all he needed. Anything more was unnecessary and a waste of resources, he could survive everything else.

"Harry, you look pale. Did you take the potion?" Hermione said, voice strained with worry across from him. He glanced at her and resisted the urge to snap at her honest concern.

"Yes, I took the potion," He muttered into the pages of the book he wasn't reading, "It just isn't working like it used to."

"You most likely are building up a-"

"Did you find anything else on Berkely's Theory of Wards and Dark Spells?" Harry cut her off, changing the subject none too subtly. Hermione knew what he was doing but answered his question anyway.

They went to bed not long after, no new information gleaned from the books.

DMHP

Draco woke up, pushed Potter's cat off his bed and proceeded to the kitchen, ignoring Potter's Privacy Ward, which was already in full force around his bed. He hadn't seen the other teen in a week, and he had spent the entire week with his friends and that obnoxious Gryffindor. It was starting to irritate him. Not only did Potter hide during the day, and sneak out at night with that Granger to study, but he had the gall to stick Draco with his cat and his irritating 'best mate.'

And he had the audacity to _obliviate_ a Malfoy.

Just thinking of the block on his memories caused a headache to spring up in his temples, and memories of vivid dreams to pass behind his eyelids. He glared into his tea and ground his teeth. Draco was getting tired of sitting around and waiting for Potter to beg for his forgiveness. Maybe it was time to do some snooping of his own- starting with his dreams and the way Severus was acting.

But first he really needed to ask Blaise why he was barging into the room and striding straight to Potter's privacy ward and knocking on it politely, not even looking at Sayre and Draco.

"Harry, it's important, it's about Hermione."

The privacy barrier went down within seconds and Potter was on his feet, looking at Blaise with a frown. Draco frowned as his heart raced at the sight of the sleepy teen, who was yawning behind his hand, wand at the ready in his other.

"What is it, Blaise. Is she alright?"

Blaise sat on the edge of the bed, Potter sat beside him hesitantly, with lines of pain crossing his face and Draco had to frown.

He looked like shit.

"She's fine, but she woke me up a little while ago asking if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade, before I could agree she ran off to invite Pansy and Ron. They told me to come invite you too."

Potter winced, but Blaise continued.

"She looked exhausted. What have you guys been doing at night?"

"Studying," Potter mumbled into his hands, in which he had buried his face. "I should be able to go. As long as the potion holds out."

Blaise nodded and looked at Draco, "You're coming with, right?"

Draco nodded with a deep sigh, might as well. Break the monotony that had become his life and all that. Blaise smiled brightly, something he had rarely done before that crush on Granger, and left with a bounce in his step. Potter remained sitting on the bed, head in his hands, and Sayre jumped up next to him.

"Not right now, Sayre."

The cat seemed to glare at him, and made a frustrated noise. Potter looked at the cat, than at Draco, and then got up, and went to rummage in his trunk. Draco watched him pull out some clothes, a brush, a bottle of something purple, and went into the bathroom with a shuffling step.

Draco huffed, but ignored him, going back to his breakfast instead, only to find that he had finished his tea while watching his friend and roommate. He only shrugged- it had been getting cold anyway, and he needed to make sure that he was ready for that trip into Hogsmeade.

An hour later he walked confidently in the middle of the group towards Hogsmeade, Granger and Blaise leading the way, Pansy and the Weasley behind them, holding hands and flirting, badly on his part. Potter paced beside him, a slightly strained expression on his face as he held Sayre.

The cat looked disgruntled and Draco smirked down at it, quelling the surge of jealousy in his gut that he wasn't the one Potty turned to for comfort. It didn't mean anything, but it was bloody annoying and he was sure it had something to do with the memories he couldn't access.

"What are we going to do?" Pansy spoke up from the back, a look of mild interest on her face.

"I want to find books on becoming Animagi, so I figured we could make a day of it." Granger responded with a smile at them.

Ron groaned, "More studying?"

She turned and glared at him, "Yes, Ron, more studying."

Harry chuckled quietly, "At least you haven't had to study with her, Ron. She's making up for only having one person by being extra tough on me." Granger turned a sour look on Harry, who only smiled peacefully at her. She huffed and turned around; Blaise wrapped an arm around her waist, and grinned over his shoulder at them.

Ron sighed behind them, "At least it'll be something cool this time." He muttered, Pansy giggled.

"Harry's dad was an illegal Animagus when he was in school," He started explaining to Pansy, "Because of Remus, really. They even had code names, like Moony, Prongs-"

"Ron, can we please not talk about them…" Harry interrupted and looked at his friend, an odd twist to his features, and his friend fell silent with a muttered apology, Potter turned back around, looking at Sayre, who was glaring at him.

"Any way, lets hit the bookstore, than Honeydukes. If we have time we can go to the Three Broomsticks. That sound good, pet?" Blaise looked down at Hermione, the leader of this expedition. She nodded, blushing slightly, and headed for the bookstore.

They split up once they got inside, Draco following Potter without much thought. The boy was acting… oddly. His usually fiery temper had disappeared, and there was a bracelet around one wrist that glowed dully with several runes to Draco's senses. He studied it a little closer, trying to pull up the memory of the rune lessons with his father and over his Hogwarts career.

The brightest ones were Nauthiz, and Pertho, runes that were drawn on the doors of Azkaban, to keep the ones inside from trying to starve themselves or fall into an addiction to escape from what surrounded them. Underlain under that was Dagaz, a rune for clarity.

The others he couldn't figure out, as Potter had noticed what he was looking at and slipped the bracelet into his pocket.

"Something from Dumbledore." He muttered, and went back to looking through books on wards. Draco frowned, and looked at Sayre, who was pawing a book on a shelf close to the ground opposite them. He bent down and grabbed it, and then raised an eyebrow at the cat.

"A self-help manual on addiction," He questioned, and noticed Harry stiffen up, hand paused halfway to a book, "You certainly choose odd pets, Potter."

Harry chuckled, "That one certainly is _special_." He sent a glare at the cat and proceeded up to the front counter, leaving the book he had been reaching for behind. _The Why's and What-For's of Mind Magic, by Alexander Honeydew_. Draco left it and the self-help manual as well, and followed Potter. This certainly was proving interesting, to say the least.

Granger was already at the counter, paying for her books as Blaise pouted next to her. Draco rolled his eyes in an un-Malfoy-ish manner, realizing that he had most likely tried to pay for the books and been shot down by the independent Granger. Ron and Pansy were standing next to the entrance, both having very little interest in anything in the store.

Potter paid and they all left, the books magically shrunken and stuffed into pockets, and they all headed to Honeydukes, Granger talking excitedly about what she had already learned just from the first few pages of the books she had chosen. Blaise let her chatter, a fond smile on his face as her hands moved around animatedly. Ron groaned once, but Pansy did or said something and he didn't do it again. Potter held Sayre tightly again, a slight frown on his face, a wrinkle of pain marring his forehead.

Draco stifled the urge to demand Granger be quiet, convinced that her voice was triggering a headache, but stopped himself, instead prodding at the shield around his memories for a moment. It held as strong as ever and he frowned.

"What's wrong, Malfoy?" A quiet voice asked next to him and he looked down into endless green eyes. Potter hadn't worn his glasses.

"Nothing, Potty" He muttered, looking away again. He heard the other boy sigh, a sound that seemed to echo with regret, and they fell into an awkward silence.

They entered Honeydukes, and Ron ran off with childlike joy, Pansy following sedately. Granger stayed near the door with Blaise, pulling out a book and unshrinking it. Potter stayed near Draco as they looked at the more normal candies and treats.

Draco looked over suddenly as a breathless gasp left Harry. He looked over, and frowned as he noticed the way Potter's hand shook as he lifted up a box of dark chocolate. The colorful cover warned the snacker to beware, and Draco knew from experience that random ones were spelled to do silly but harmless things, like change hair color.

"Sirius loved these." He said to himself and Ron, drawn by the sudden stillness in his friend, pranced across the store, an armload of sweets already in his arms, and grinned broadly.

"Hey! Didn't Padfoot eat these all the time?"

Harry paled and looked over at Draco, eyes wide with what could only be fear as a click sounded deep in his mind. Within seconds he had the block torn down and memories flooded through his conscious thoughts before settling back into their proper place, and he turned a deathly glare onto the small raven.

"Harry," He stated with an unnatural calm, "I believe there are a few things we need to discuss."

Harry gulped.

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I wasn't pleased with this chapter to begin with, but I think it came together in the end. I apologize again for the long wait, I'm going to try to be better about my updates in the future. I'm also going through all my reviews and trying to find all the names I never posted or found the meanings to, so if you sent one, please let me know.

On a side note, I am a part of Gaia under this same name, so feel free to look me up.

Mana Midnight


	14. Purging

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or the setting.

A/N: Woot! New laptop! And now I can actually write things without worrying about this being someone elses computer! Or a library or school computer-because that is just awkward...

Warning, this chapter has not been edited beyond what I do roughly, I apologize for any mistakes and if anyone notices a glaring mistake I'll fix it asap.

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Purging**

Harry followed glumly behind Draco back to their rooms, the blonde's shoulders were straight and tense. His hands were rhythmically flexing with every other step and Harry got the impression that the blonde was resisting the urge to turn around and punch him. Guts curled with strain, Harry hung his head, and sighed softly. He was going to get it good... If Draco ever talked to him again after this it would be a miracle.

The Slytherin shot him a glare over over his shoulder and Harry's head hung lower as they ascended the stairs. His arm was twitching and there was an odd pulsing that seemed to vibrate his head and every now and then it felt like bugs were crawling up and down his legs. It was the withdrawal, he knew it, it was getting worse, and it was getting harder to hide it.

Draco opened the door to their room, and the light from the windows pierced his eyes. Another tremor sped down his arm and he screwed his eyes shut, trying to block out the light for a second until the headache passed again. He heard Draco swear under his breath and the lights through the windows dimmed.

"You're going through alcohol withdrawal." Harry kept his eyes closed, cursing the Gryffindor courage that chose that moment to flee, "When was your last drink?"

"A little over a week ago." He mumbled in the direction of the carpet.

"So the Dragon's Blood was the last time," Harry nodded, "What potion is Severus and Granger making for you?"

"I've never asked..."

"It's not working for the withdrawal anymore is it?" All he could do was shake his head in response to Draco's question.

Quiet fell in the room, and for a second Harry thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He shook it off, knowing it wasn't really there.

"Fuck, Potter, you're going through Delirium Tremens, aren't you?" Draco's soft voice broke the hush and Harry looked up in surprise.

"What's that?"

"Never mind that. Sit down, I'm going to make you something that will help, and it isn't something that they would think of." The blond shook his head and went to his corner of the room, pulling his cauldron out of his trunk.

Harry obeyed, and slouched on the couch, covering his face with his hands and trying to ignore the things crawling on his arms and the _things_ in the corners of the room. He knew they weren't really there, but a small part of his mind was curled around itself in a right state of nerves, and the rest of him wasn't far behind. He could hear Draco doing something by the fire, and he fell onto his side, not trying to hide the sweating or the tremors anymore.

For a minute he wished that he hadn't left the damned cat with the others, but Sayre wouldn't be of any help to him right now. The man had saved him the last time he had gotten this bad, in a back alley in Surrey of all places, and helped him through the worst of it.

He could still remember the monsters that had chased him behind a dumpster, his fever spiking from the activity, and how Lucius had seemed to come from a ball of light. Now, he knew that the ball of light had been him Apparating in, miles from his intended destination and damn near splinching himself in the process. It didn't matter, Lucius had saved him, and than made him swear an Unbreakable Vow to protect him when Harry could think straight again.

Harry had done his best to stay away from alcohol after that, but it was so hard, and he had fallen off the wagon a couple of times. Even though he could have died in a pile of refuse, he couldn't keep his hands away from the bottle when he had given up all hope. At first, it was only Lucius who was there to pick him back up, but then Hermione, followed by Snape, and now it looked like Draco was among them- whether Harry actually agreed to it or not.

Hands gently touched his shoulder and he almost jumped in fright, but Draco's voice murmuring reassurances reached his ears and he sat up slowly, accepting the glass vial of whatever it was that he had brewed. He knocked it back quickly, before the paranoia lurking near the edges of his psyche could kick in, and winced as the foul taste stung his tongue.

Draco chuckled, and the sound was bleary in his ears, "Hopefully I won't have to give this to you again. My father drank this the last time he tried to quit, before he disappeared. It'll put you to sleep, for a few hours, then you'll wake up feeling worse than you do now."

"What does it do?" Harry asked blearily, already feeling a numbness invade his limbs.

"Clears the alcohol out of your system."

That was the last thing Harry heard before slumping forward, the world fading to black rapidly.

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Draco caught Harry as he fell and pulled him securely against his side, the other boy already snoring quietly. It would only last an hour or two, as the potion worked it's way through his system, then he would spend a few hours vomiting in the loo with the worst hangover he would ever experience. After that, all he would have to do was learn to tame the urge for the stuff.

That would be the hardest, and what had ultimately chased his father away. Even now he could see the back of Lucius' head as he fled the Manor, mumbling under his breath and ignoring their pleas. It had hurt so much, and Draco didn't want to experience the same thing with Harry.

His grip tightened as Harry shifted in his sleep, the smell of subtly sweet shampoo wafting up from raven tresses. A smile stretched unbidden across his face when the smaller teen made a small noise as he relaxed further.

Protectiveness was nothing new for the Malfoy heir, he had once hexed an older Slytherin for messing with Pansy, and had even thrown a few stray minor curses to protect younger students- without them knowing of course. It had come as a surprise when the curses he had become accustomed to blocking on a daily basis stopped.

At first, he had shrugged it off, they most likely got tired of him ignoring their attempts to harm him. It took him a little bit to notice that nothing new was happening. There was no one coming to harm him, he wasn't kept up at night with the pain of hexes he had failed to block and been too proud to see Madam Pomfrey or tell his friends about. It became glaringly obvious when the Golden Dork and his Trio of Tame Sheep had failed to come around and try to throw in their punches.

Until he noticed a distance had grown between them, the way Potter ate at the opposite end of the table, and the Weasel met the emerald eyes with a sub-par sneer. The Mudblood would hang her head in the halls, the picture of abject sorrow. He once caught the Gryffindork Golden One with tears hanging in his eyes, and had bitten his tongue when he would have insulted him.

He kept his ears open and quickly learned the reason through the rumors murmured in the halls. Potter was a pouf and his best mate was homophobic. It should have made him gleeful but all he could do was shake his head at the stupidity of Gryffindors. During this time, chocolates he had received had exploded, and a cutting curse barely missed him during his evening rounds.

It didn't click that Potter was his secret protector until he had intercepted Ron when he would have tried to pick a fight with Draco.

"_Dammit Ron! When are you going to grow up and learn to leave childish rivalries where they belong?"_

The ginger had actually looked at his friend like he was a stranger. Harry had stormed away and after that they had avoided paths. At the end of the year is seemed like everything had been repaired between them and everything was going back to normal.

Well... as normal as things could get when Harry Potter was involved. Now someone was after his life again, and they were obviously not above using students as weapons. He had no idea if anything else had happened while he had been _Obliviated_, but he was sure as hell going to find.

Malfoys were known to be protective and always took care of the ones they held close, and he was a Malfoy to the core.

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Harry woke up, something thick and heavy worming its way up his throat and he rushed from the warm arms that encircled and protected him to the bathroom to throw whatever it was up. Soft footfalls followed him and a hand stroked his head and down his back, whispering words of comfort as oily liquid came out of his body.

"That's the alcohol that was in your system. I had to brew the same potion for my father last summer."

He nodded weakly, and stood up slowly, rinsing out his mouth as the toilet flushed itself. Draco's hand moved to his lower back, half wrapped around his torso to help steady him. Ears pounded with every beat of his heart and nausea curled sickly in his belly. Draco murmured something else but he didn't hear it over the whooshing sound in his ears, so he shook his head to try to clear it out and looked at Draco, hoping he would repeat it. With a slight nod the blonde did.

"I said that you should lay down, you'll feel like this for a while."

Harry nodded and headed for his bed, practically collapsing on it. To his surprise Draco laid down next to him, transforming their clothes into pajamas and pulling him close. He didn't have the strength to fight or question it though, but curled up against the other man's chest, hiding his face from the light.

"I'll wait till you're better to yell at you, Harry."

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Going to do my best to be better about updates, and here is the list of names that I could find, the contributed names have been marked as such.

Larka's Blessing: (contributed Kelsey)

Kelsey- From an English surname which is of disputed meaning. It could be derived from the Old English given name _Ceolsige_ meaning "ship victory". Alternatively it could be from a place name meaning "Cenel's island", from the Old English name _Cenel_ "fierce" in combination with _eg_ "island".

Alexa- Short for Alexendra. Feminine form of ALEXANDER. In Greek mythology this was a Mycenaean epithet of the goddess Hera, and an alternate name of Cassandra. It was borne by several early Christian saints, and also by the wife of Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia. She was from Germany and had the birth name _Alix_, but was renamed _Alexandra_ upon joining the Russian Church.

Elen-Welsh form of HELEN. This was the name of a 4th-century Welsh saint. It also appears in the Mabinogion, a collection of tales from Welsh myth, belonging to a woman who built the roads in Wales.

Rhia- not even on the site I use, but it looks like a version of Ria, which says it's a shortened version for Maria, and the site says this- This was the name of two ruling queens of Portugal. It was also borne by the Habsburg queen Maria Theresa (1717-1780), whose inheritance of the domains of her father, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, began the War of the Austrian Succession.  
Sapphire- I liked Safira, but there was also Nilam, Sappho and Sapphira.

FaeryWings:

Angelica-Derived from Latin _angelicus_ meaning "angelic", ultimately related to Greek _angelos_ "messenger". This name was used by the poets Boiardo and Ariosto in their 'Orlando' poems (1495 and 1532), where it belongs to Orlando's love interest. It has been used as a given name since the 18th century.

Macaday me a nut:

Stevie- Form of Stephan, From the Greek name _Stephanos_ meaning "crown". Saint Stephen was a deacon who was stoned to death, as told in Acts in the New Testament, and he is regarded as the first Christian martyr. Due to him, the name became common in the Christian world. It was popularized in England by the Normans.

The-Death-Queen: (contributed)

Abigail- alternative meanings for it are Father's joy and God's joy. Also a cool girls name: Sanjukta, which means union, is a Indian name.

Gemini Malfoy-Potter:

1: Idun- Probably derived from Old Norse _ið_ "again" and _unna_ "to love". In Norse mythology Iðunn was the goddess of spring and immortality whose responsibility it was to guard the gods' apples of youth.

2:Mortishia- This one took me some looking, and it looks like it's a play on mortician.

3:Gemini- This literally only means twins. That's the Latin translation of it.

Lovely:

Dewayne- Form of Duane. From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname _Ó Dubhán_ meaning "descendent of DUBHÁN".

Dhamar- Couldn't find its use as a name, but it could refer to a city, a government, or a form of rhythmic music.

Yasmine- From Persian, meaning Jasmine.

Nikotehfox:

Serena- From a Late Latin name which was derived from Latin _serenus_ meaning "clear, tranquil, serene". This name was borne by an obscure early saint. It was also used by Edmund Spenser in his poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590).

Channing: (contributed- and thank you because now I want to use that as a name for a character in one of my original things lol)

my name is channing. weird name, not used much. masculine (but i'm a girl.  
stupid parents ). means wise/knowing, young wolf (english version); a  
canal (french version). super old name, too.

ClosetSlashFanGirl '-':

=] keiko, japanese - beloved/adored


	15. Missing

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A/N: SOOOO sorry guys. .

It's going to be in Ron's POV for the first part, for a change of pace.

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Missing**

"_Dammit Ron! When are you going to grow up and learn to leave childish rivalries where they belong?"_

Ronald Weasley had grown up a lot since his best friend had yelled that line at him, and he didn't just mean physically. When Harry had come out to them, he had freaked, and let his immaturity get in the way of his friendship. Fred and George had beat sense into him when he had gone home for Christmas Hols and his mum gave him a stern talking to. After that he learned to shut up and listen, and watched Harry. Ron saw more than Hermione will ever give him credit for, and he knew that a lot of what he saw he didn't know how to fix, so he kept his mouth shut and tried to tell others what was going on any way he could.

Although Pansy seemed to be the only one listening.

"Ron, what's wrong? You're staring at that chocolate frog like it murdered your best friend." Pansy sat gracefully down next to him and he pouted at her.

"Maybe it did." He joked and she giggled and set a hand on his knee, squeezing it gently in an attempt to comfort him.

"Is Harry still drinking?" She asked suddenly, staring at him seriously and he hesitantly reached down and put his hand on her hand.

"No, it looks like he got it under control when he _obliviated_ Draco." He finally bit off the head of the frog and Pansy tore off a leg to nibble.

"How did you know he had done that to him in the first place?"

"I watched." She rolled her eyes at the usual response.

"I'm serious."

"Aren't you supposed to be a Slytherin?" He kissed the top of her head and she leaned against his shoulder.

"Right now I'm a Gryffindor. So I'm going to be a stupid, stubborn Gryffindor and keep pestering you until you answer me."

Ron sighed but smiled down at her anyway, "Malfoy stopped being protective. His eyes stopped following Harry around the room, stopped tilting his body toward him." Pansy blinked in mild amazement and he felt a blush spreading up his neck and warming his ears.

"That doesn't explain how you knew it was an _obliviate_. And how you knew the key to unlocking it." He scratched the top of his head on this one.

"That was a wild guess, actually. I know Harry doesn't leave many things up to chance, so if necessary he'll use an _obliviate,_ and lock it. The one word that I knew none of us were going to say willingly would be Sirius's nickname."

"Ah," She said unhelpfully, obviously not pleased with that vague answer, and stood up, dragging him up by the hand, "Let's go into the library. I need to finish the Charms essay."

He allowed himself to be pulled, but McGonagall stopped them by the door, smiling in her matronly manner.

"Ron, Pansy. How are you getting along in your studies?"

"Very well Professor McGonagall." Pansy said politely.

"That's good. How is Hermione and Harry doing?" A look of genuine concern came across her face and the pit of Ron's stomach dropped. He should have had the two of them come visit the Head of Gryffindor earlier.

"They're doing well, ma'am. I'll tell them they should come visit you sooner. You're like another mum to all of us, Professor." He grinned at her.

"I try, dear Ronald. Have a good day now." She walked past them, and Ron noticed Pansy looking at her with a suspicious look.

"What is it?" He asked as soon as they had entered the library, she shrugged.

"It looked like she was tired."

"Well, she is still Deputy Headmistress. Probably has to attend meetings in the Castle still."

Pansy nodded and they headed to the top floor, "You're right. Like Snape still makes potions for Madame Pomfrey."

"Yeah." They stopped on the stairs and watched Blaise pacing in front of the couch Harry and Draco sat on, Harry practically in Draco's lap. Ron blinked at the sight of them. No one had seen them since Hogsmeade, which had been almost three days ago. The ex-Gryffindor looked thin and tired, but it appeared that whatever was wrong between them had been repaired for the most part.

"Hullo Ron." His friend said with a small smile, and Ron nodded, plopping down on the couch next to him with a stupid grin, pulling Pansy to sit on his lap.

"Hullo Harry, I see you and ferret-face kissed and made up." Pansy giggled and Draco mock-glared at him. When Harry chuckled Draco kept what ever he had been about to see behind a small smile of his own.

Ron's heart almost stopped from the shock of it.

"I'm feeling much better than I have in a week, Ron. Trust me."

Ron nodded and turned his attention to Blaise, "What crawled up your ass and died?"

"Hermione said she should be coming back today. But she isn't here yet." He reached up as if to pull his hair out, stopped halfway through the motion, and instead wiped the imaginary dust off of his shoulders.

"I know that. You just act like she's your heartmate or something, mate." Ron scoffed, but sat up straighter when Blaise bit his bottom lip, "Merlin's balls. You can't be serious. You? And 'Mione?"

"What about you and Pansy?" Blaise blushed lightly, turning up his nose in contrition.

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Draco had tuned out their words, only listening to their conversation with one ear. His whole being was taken up with counting the breaths and the heartbeats Harry took. The minutes between his arm trembling, that number was going up, and he was beginning to breathe easier himself for it.

"What's a heartmate?" Harry asked innocently, his voice still raspy from throwing up, but Draco was pretty sure he was the only one who noticed.

"Oh, that's right. Your relatives were muggles." Pansy patted his knee, and Harry flinched at her reference to his relatives. Draco's grip tightened. He would love to teach those dirty Muggles what they had shown the Savior of the Wizarding World for eleven years of his life.

"The closest thing to a Heartmate in the Muggle world would be a," Pansy paused, searching for the word, Ron grinned and finished the sentence.

"A soulmate, mate. Like Sleeping Beauty, or something like that. Two halves of a whole." Draco twitched at the 'mate' Weasley used, but he kept his mouth closed tightly.

"Oh. Ok. I always like Beauty and the Beast more myself." He yawned and leaned a little more up against Draco.

"What's that story about?" Pansy asked and mimicked his action, leaning up against Ron herself.

Draco decided to ignore the story, he could always get Harry to retell it to him later. Instead, he watched Blaise pace, who continued to pace furiously in front of the fire, occasionally casting a tempus before cursing under his breath. The Slytherin-turned-Ravenclaw was usually much calmer and more in control of himself. Pansy and Ron were too captured in what Harry was saying to realize that something was off with their newer companion and it wasn't until he punched the wall by the fire that they even looked over.

The Italian's eyes were blazing with something inhuman, his face creased into something between worry and anger. His usually tan skin was pale from what showed underneath the robes he had worn for the day, and when he pulled his hand away from the wall. A few drops of blood fell from his fingertips and onto the floor before Pansy rushed forward to cast a healing charm on the wounded flesh, sending concerned glances back to the ones sitting on the couch.

Harry had stopped moving, and had started biting his lip instead, fingers worrying the hem of the emerald green tank he was wearing. Ron was frowning, brow creased in concentration as his eyes darted from Blaise to the fire, coming to the same conclusion the other two had already reached.

"This isn't like 'Mione." The red-head muttered and his head fell into his hands. Harry nodded, than realized his friend couldn't see him.

"Yeah. If she was going to be late by even a few minutes she would have sent her _Patronus_ with a message." He explained to the Slytherins. Blaise ran a hand through his hair, and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"She's going to be fine. She knows more spells than any one else in our year, and has been through more than any other girl in our year."

"You sound like you're trying to reassure yourself, Blaise," Draco scolded, his friend turned to glare at him but he refused to remove his eyes, "Everything you said was correct. So calm down."

"He's right. 'Mione's helped us out on all of our adventures. So now we just have to figure out what she would do in this situation." Harry spoke up, voice calmer than Draco thought it would have been.

"She would go to the teacher she trusted the most, McGonagall." This time it was Weasley, who raised his head and looked at Pansy.

"Oh, she looked so tired already, let's not bother her anymore." Draco raised his eyebrow at his friend, who was pushing Blaise into a chair.

"Tired?"

"Yeah. She looked bloody exhausted when we ran into her. She wanted us to give everyone her best, or something like that." He leaned back into the couch, rubbing his face.

Harry stood up, "Let's go to Severus, than. He would be next on her list right now."

"She wouldn't go to Dumbledore?" The female blonde looked over, one hand still massaging Blaise's shoulder in an attempt to offer him some comfort.

"'Mione trusts him us much as we do." Weasley stood up, shoulders thrown back and Draco could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he sifted through the information he had on hand.

"Than Severus it is."

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Lemo- Leah is from the Hebrew name _(Le'ah)_ which was probably derived from the Hebrew word _(le'ah)_ meaning "weary". Alternatively it might derive from a Chaldean name meaning "mistress" or "ruler" in Akkadian. In the Old Testament Leah was the first wife of Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Although this name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, being common among the Puritans.

Remember, I use a site called behind the name . Com, so it might be different from what you see on another site.

Sorry for the long wait again guys. I plan on doing my best to update again tonight, even if I have to brew myself a pot of coffee and stay up all night to be able to do it. Also sorry that this isn't as long as I would like it to be, I was rushing to get it done. I'm also currently logged onto both my AIM and Yahoo Messenger with the username manamidnight if anyone wants to berate me personally. Lol. You're reviews are pretty much what's kept me going.

Well, I'm going to upload this and get to working on the next chapter. Love you guys!

Mana Midnight


	16. Planning: Stage Two

Disclaimer: No, I do not own them.

A/N: As I typed this my cat rotated between trying to sit between myself and my computer screen and sleeping adorably next to the keyboard.

**Golden Boy**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Planning: Stage Two**

The sound of Sayre's toy rolling across the floor was the only noise in the room beside the gentle clinking of silverware on plates. Both consumed with their thoughts on the meeting with Severus. He had listened, made them promise that they weren't going to do anything stupid, and than sent them on their way, and said that he would try to get them together tomorrow or the day after with whatever he had found out. Personally, Harry doubted that Snape was going to contact them with anything. It's what those in charge did, he was used to it. Ron would understand when Harry started hitting the books trying to figure it out while the adults in their life fumbled around and didn't get anything done.

"You do realize they might try to attack you again." Harry blinked at Draco's words, not understanding for a minute before he sett down his fork and nodded with a grim look on his face.

"Yeah, I've considered the possibility."

"What are we going to do?"

"We?" Harry raised an eyebrow and Draco gave him a stubborn look. His brain registered that Sayre had stopped playing with his toy while a giant grin spread across his face, "Alright. We."

"Stop grinning like a fool and answer the question." Draco took another bite and concentrated on his plate, trying to hide the blush blooming on his cheeks.

"I don't know. I've never planned for anything that happened to me, I just reacted to what was going on." He took a bite of his food and chewed slowly.

"Maybe that's why some things are screwed up now." Draco said dryly, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice and ignoring the look of contrition Harry sent his way.

"If I hadn't acted the way I did in Fifth Year Voldemort might be alive still."

"But your godfather might be alive and breathing as well," Harry felt himself flinch and pull into himself and Draco cussed under his breath in that elegant voice of his. He reached across the bar and grabbed Harry's hand, "I apologize. I should have thought before I spoke." The strain of apologizing could be heard in his voice and Harry flipped his hand over so they could lace their fingers together.

"It's alright. It's been two years, I need to learn to deal with it and not flinch every time his name is mentioned."

"Alright. Although you do have a point about not planning ahead for attacks. We can't predict when or what the enemy is going to do based on what little information we have at our disposal. All we can do is put safe guards into place."

"Like when Sayre went and found you when I got attacked?"

"Yes."

"That's what the _Patronus_ is for."

"But you have to have to time and know how to do it."

"Oh." Harry scratched his scar in thought and ignored Sayre's soft meow from by his feet.

"You'll have to teach the rest of us so we can figure something out."

"Hermione was the one who was good at teaching things. Both Ron and I are bollocks at it."

"Didn't you head the D.A back in Fifth year?" The blonde looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah, but 'Mione did all the teaching. I just attracted the people into it. Like a figurehead I guess."

Draco made a soft noise and jumped a little when Sayre jumped onto the bar, catching both of their attention, "I would love to hear the story about how that cat saved you, but now is not the time. We'll meet with the others tomorrow and discuss the safeguards some more."

Harry nodded and watched as he stood up, making his way to the bathroom with the declaration that he was going to take a shower. He turned around to find the Malfoy Patriarch sitting on the table and delicately nibbling on something he had taken off of one of their plates.

"He's going to kill me when he finds out who you are and that I didn't tell him." Harry hissed and threw up a silencing barrier on the bathroom door so Draco wouldn't hear them.

"He might." Harry scoffed and stood up, taking his plate to the sink, "What happened while I was sleeping?"

"Hermione got kidnapped." Lucius froze, a piece of cucumber delicately held between two fingers while he thought through what had just been told to him. Harry took Draco's plate away from within his reach and started doing the dishes.

"That intelligent Muggle-born... How... Interesting."

"Is that all you can say? She's my best friend."

"I'm saying that this means it might be a Death Eater behind this. Any new teachers this year?"

"Just the ones teaching in the castle while the Heads of Houses are here."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, I didn't pay much attention to them, I was concentrating on other things during those speeches."

"Like what?" The Malfoy elder scoffed and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Like making sure no one noticed how messed up I was or that the cat I had with me was smarter than they thought he was."

"Of course."

Harry shook his head, and took a sip of his muggle soda he had set within reach of the sink.

"You spoke to Severus already, I assume."

"He was our first stop. He told us not to worry about it and sent us to bed like school children."

"You are school children."

Harry sent him a glare, "That's not the point."

"If you insist. You seem to not have any plans right now."

"We're going to discuss it tomorrow. Why am I telling you this anyway?"

"Do not ask me. Now let me out, I wish for a breath of fresh air." With that he jumped off the counter and headed for the door, shifting into the sleek gray cat as he moved.

Harry sighed and opened the door for him, and shut it behind him just as Draco stepped from the bathroom.

"What was that, Harry?"

"Sayre, he was scratching at the door so I let him out."

"Alright. Going to shower before bed?"

"No, I'll shower in the morning. Dishes are done by the way."

"Ready for bed than?"

"In a minute. First, I was wondering how our two separate beds became one. With Slytherin colors."

SSSS

Severus pulled his robes tighter around his body, unwilling to cast a warming charm to dispel the cold air hitting his body in fear that it would disrupt the other spells he had in effect. Instead he pulled up his collar and held his freezing hands against his body in an attempt to warm them up as the multicolored streamers that made of the magic of the Wards around Hogwarts blazed brightly in his third eye. There was neither anything that marred their strength nor anything that stood out as sign of warning in his eyes.

He took a deep breath and delved a little deeper as he walked around the school grounds, staying far from Hagrid's hut. Last thing he needed was that half-giant trying to be his friend and wondering what he was doing accessing the power that kept them safe while they slept. He snarled to himself when something darted across his field of vision and broke his concentration. It had looked like a rat of some sort and he shook his head, scolding his worry for the teens who had burst into his office in a near panic that afternoon.

They were going to be fine, as long as he was able to give them answers when they looked for him in the morning. Harry and Draco especially. He couldn't let himself worry about them when they were most likely already in bed, trying to come up with plans behind his back, and he couldn't let them do anything foolish, like what happened in Fifth year.

Shaking his head again he brought the Wards back up into his mind and delved into the memory of the past few days that they held. The information he sought sunk slowly into his mind and he gave a slight sigh.

Granger had come through the Wards, half an hour before she had told her friends she was due. Anything that happened after that they couldn't tell him. Meaning it had to be someone in the school or someone who knew of an access route that bypassed the Wards, and there were only two of those. One was the one that led to the Shrieking Shack, and the other was in the Room of Requirement, and he had only heard legends of that one.

Unfortunately the Wards were not always accurate, they could be tricked, as any magic that was as old as this could be fooled. It was like a trusting, absent-minded grandfather, who knew everything, but wasn't stubborn enough to raise a fuss when someone told him that he was wrong. That was the only reason he had yet to figure out who had cast the _Imperius_ almost a full two months ago, someone had manipulated the Wards into thinking that they 'remembered' something wrong, and therefore erasing the 'memory' of that spell in particular being cast.

This was going to be one of the few times he openly regretted the werewolf not coming around more often. Lupin might be able to track Granger's scent, even days cold and in his human form. Perhaps he would write the other man in the morning and request his presence for a 'tour' of the school he once taught. He snorted, knowing that Dumbledore would willingly agree with it. If this string of suggestions kept up the old man would start to think that Severus was the senile one.

"Severus."

He whirled around, the Wards disappearing from his sight as he pointed his wand at a perfectly straight nose. Severus had to blink for a few minutes to make sure that he was seeing everything right and that it wasn't a trick of the light.

"Lucius." He breathed, and the other man nodded.

"It is. Can you please remove your wand from my direction?"

"Perhaps. Why are you here?"

"Potter's gray cat is my animagus form, old friend."

"Of course." The other man shook his head and shifted into the form of the gray cat and twirled between his feet before stepping back away and shifting back.

Severus slowly put his wand away. Lucius had defected from the Death Eaters when Voldemort had died and when the Death Eaters were still thinking he would return. Even now if another Death Eater saw him they would most likely destroy him on the spot.

"You're not going to kill me?"

"I was a spy for Dumbledore and the Order. I have no reason to follow through with your execution."

Lucius whistled and Severus smirked, finally casting that warming charm on the both of them, and started to head back towards the Seventh Year dorms, "I take it that the real reason you ran from your family was because of that and not because of the drinking, like Narcissa and Draco firmly believe?"

"Yes." The blonde's steps fell into stride with his.

"How noble of you."

"They were my family, Severus. I did not wish to bring harm to them if the remaining Death Eaters decided to make an example of me. I was reeling from the destruction of the Mark, and from the resolution to quit drinking."

"How did you come to be with Ha- the Potter boy?"

"Feel free to call him Harry, Severus, and that story is not one I should be telling you on my own. It is more his story than mine."

Severus nodded, "We all have secrets, Lucius, and we are entitled to keep them as such. I will not pester you this time. Let this be a warning now, though, if not telling hurts either Harry or Draco, I shall take it out of your hide, old friend."

"I would expect no less." Lucius met his eyes squarely and Severus nodded, appeased, "Now, do you have any plans for finding out who caused all of this?"

A smirk split his face and he saw the blonde try to hide a flinch, "Now that you mention it, I do."

DMHPDMHPDMHPDMHP

Finished.

No, this is not proofread, I try to reread paragraphs as a write them, so if you spot any mistakes feel free to let me know and I will fix them. I'll try to proofread it tomorrow, I wanted to post this like I promised.

On a side note, my cat(a norwegian forestcat mix) would not get out of my way half the time, and he is no longer a cute little kitten but over twenty pounds(and not because he's fat, I think most of the weight is his fur). He won't even stay with the injured kitten I'm watching over right now. .


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